Family Portrait
by S.M.Hoffman
Summary: After the events of Chosen, Giles and Buffy have finally become a functioning family. But when Giles' past catches up with him, will Giles and Buffy rise above it or will their family be damaged beyond repair? Semi-AU, rated M for language
1. Pictures of You

**A/N-** Okay, so I finally logged back in and decided to start another story. And what fandom did I decide to write for...why BtVS, of course! Anyways, this is my first Buffyverse story and I think that's all that needs to be said on this matter. And yes, this is a B/G story. If you don't like this pairing, then either don't read this story or don't review to bash the pairing. Thank you.

**Disclaimer- **I do not own BtVS or anything you may recognize from the show. That honor goes to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I don't even own the city this story takes place in or the names of certain places, cities, and schools...all of those places are real places where I live and I have frequented them often. I do, however, own any characters you don't recognize.

**Spoilers- **This story takes place roughly 13 years after the end of the series, so anything's fair game. Although I did take creative freedom and mold certain events to fit the plot of this story.

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**Pictures of You**

_"This is the clock up on the wall, this is the story of us all, t__his is the first sound of a newborn child before he starts to crawl. __This is the war that's never won, this is the soldier and his gun, t__his is the mother way to buy the fall praying for her son. __Pictures of you, pictures of me, h__ung up on your wall for the world to see. __Pictures of you, pictures of me, r__emind us all of what we used to be."_

'_Pictures of You'- _The Last Goodnight

The sound of laughter followed the shattering of glass, a group of teenagers doubled over as they each took turns throwing whatever they could get their hands on at the high school they attended. They would pause long enough to take a swig from the beer bottles at their feet or take a drag from the cigarettes they were sharing.

Out of the four 16 year olds, there was one in particular who was enjoying the act more than the others. His dark brown hair stuck up on end and his light blue eyes held a certain gleam that the others couldn't quite name. He was by no means the leader of the group, but he somehow demanded a degree of respect from the other three. There was a bruise around his right eye and a trail of blood that formed at the corner of his lip, along with scrapes and bruises on his knuckles, from the fights the group had engaged in earlier.

"Think your mom will figure out you helped with this, Dakota?" one of the teenagers asked the brown haired boy.

"Nah," he answered, a cigarette dangling between his lips. "They're too busy with their work to notice that I'm gone."

"What about your brothers?"

"Brennan wouldn't rat me out, and Evan...well, let's just say the little freak doesn't mess with me."

Dakota Alexander Giles chucked his empty bottle at the building's window, punching the air when a shatter rang across the empty courtyard.

* * *

A grunt echoed in the basement his parents had converted into a training room for his mother, the dark green eyes of Brennan Christopher Giles focused on the punching bag. His parents had gone out in search of his twin, leaving the blonde 16 year old to work out his frustration by hitting the punching bag for a while. He was tired of Dakota assuming he would cover for him every time he snuck out to hang out with his punk friends.

"He's gonna get himself killed," he muttered, his fist driving into the bag again. "Dumb ass."

He hit the punching bag a few more times before calling it quits, and walking over to sit on the bottom step. Brennan wasn't stupid, he knew exactly why Dakota's behavior bothered his father so much; after all, his parents didn't call him 'Watcher' for the hell of it. Their father may have never come out and said it, but the blonde was sure that his twin reminded their father of his past in some form or another.

"I just don't understand why Dad won't sit him down and talk to him," Brennan muttered, tugging on his left earlobe as he began to feel jittery again.

Heaving a soft sigh, the 16 year old got to feet and ran through the breathing exercises his parents had taught him in hopes to calm himself down enough to go back to sleep.

* * *

Light green eyes stared at his bedroom ceiling as he listened to his parents argue over his older brother, the 13 year old not knowing why he was surprised. Out of all the things his parents argued about, Dakota seemed to be one of the most reoccurring arguments for them. He ran a hand through his sleep tousled brown hair as he turned on to his stomach, chewing on his bottom lip as he registered the rising intensity of the argument.

He winced at the sound of a slamming door and footsteps stomping down the stairs. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that his parents loved each other, but he often wondered if Watchers and Slayers were meant to marry one another. Taking a deep breath, the small teenager climbed out of bed and made his way downstairs.

A shock of cold hot him as soon as his bare foot hit the tile of the entryway, but that didn't stop him from making his way to the family room. He stood in the opening to the room as he watched his father pour himself a drink, something he had grown accustomed to over the years.

"You are going to make up with Mum before morning, right?" his small voice asked as his feet carried him over the couch.

"Of course I am," his father replied, ruffling his son's hair. "We both just need to calm down before I go back up there, Evan."

The boy nodded his head as he rubbed a circle in the back of his head, his eyes showing his worry as he watched his father. Sensing his son's concern, he quickly down his glass and gave him a gentle smile.

"Would you feel better if I were to go back up there now?"

Evan nodded and a yawn ripped through him, much to his annoyance.

"Well then, come on. Let's go back up and you get back to bed."

They made their way back up the stairs, the 13 year old hugging his father before climbing back into bed. He waited a few minutes to make sure another argument didn't break out, and when he heard silence he decided it was time to go back to sleep.

The last thought on Evan Bradley Giles' mind was that he hoped just because he looked like his father didn't mean he would act exactly like him.

* * *

Rupert Giles slowly made his way into his and Buffy's bedroom, sighing softly when he saw her sitting on the edge of their bed. Running his fingers through his hair, he gently cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Come back for round two?" her hazel eyes bore into him, daring him to start another argument.

"Buffy..." he sighed, his right hand diving into the pocket of his jeans.

"I just don't get why you won't tell Dakota about your past?" she cut him off, genuine puzzlement in her voice. "If he knew that you went through a rebellion period, he could stop before we're dealing with 'Ripper's revenge'."

"And if it gives him more of a reason to continue, what then?" Giles countered, sitting down beside her. "I could tell him about Ripper and where that led me, and it could give him more of a reason to not listen to me. It may very well even plant ideas in his head,"

There was a pause as Buffy thought over what her husband had said. He had a point, but so did she. And there's where their problem laid; they both had points on how to deal with their son's behavior.

"Telling him about that part of my life is a last resort, Buffy." He added, his jade green eyes focused on the carpeted floor. "When we have no other options, I'll tell him."

"Will that be before or after he overdoses on something?" Buffy felt his eyes on her, prompting her to look at him. "You know that's where Dakota's heading, Giles. The booze and the cigarettes I can handle, but the drugs I couldn't handle."

The Watcher had no response to give. Instead, he averted his gaze and sighed.

"Just talk to him, okay?" she grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers when he nodded his head in agreement. "Did you think we'd be here all those years ago?"

"What?" he looked at her and tilted his head in confusion at the change of subject.

"Did you ever think that you'd be married to me and discussing on how to deal with Ripper Jr.?" a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at her smirk.

"Do you mean before or after I found out my 19 year old Slayer was pregnant from the casual sex relationship she had with me?"

They both broke into a fit of giggles, her head coming to rest against his shoulder. Giles sighed as he pulled her closer to his side, reflecting on complicated journey of their relationship.

When Buffy had come to him the night of her first Thanksgiving in college, he had no intentions of letting it become a regular occurrence. Of course that hadn't been the case. They both fell into the habit of finding comfort within each other and it didn't take long until it was purely casual sex between them, but it couldn't stay that simple. He had found out that he was going to be a father when Faith had switched bodies with Buffy five months after they had started their relationship, in the loosest idea of the term.

From then on out, things had snowballed. Both Watcher and Slayer had decided to actually try for a real relationship and soon after, Giles had found himself falling in love with her. The moment he had told her, he had allowed himself to toy with the notion that they both may have found some form of normalcy when she had admitted to feeling _something_ for him-she just wasn't sure if it was love or not.

Seven months after Giles and Buffy had begun dating, the twins were born and made it that much harder for Giles when Buffy had died in Dawn's place. It was only after she had been resurrected that the complications came into play. Not being able to deal with the mess that was his Slayer pretending to live, and after finding she had been sleeping with Spike on the side, Giles had left for England and left the twins in Anya's care.

He had known, without a doubt, that there would be a lot to fix between them when he arrived back in Sunnydale to deal with Willow. And when he showed up on Buffy's doorstep with a few Potentials, he knew that it would never be the same between them. That fact was further encouraged by the rift that had grown with each disagreement they had, whether it be about Spike or how she was handling the situation with the First.

Giles had been so certain that Dakota and Brennan would be his only children, until Buffy came to him looking for comfort- yet again- when the Hellmouth destroyed Sunnydale. They feel into the easy routine of using sex for comfort, the result being Buffy becoming pregnant again. After a few months of debating, Giles and Buffy had settled down in Spring, Texas with the twins and Dawn.

They didn't entertain the thought of a relationship again and after Evan had been born, Buffy left for Huntsville to attend Sam Houston State University to obtain a degree in teaching. By the time Evan was 4 years old, Buffy had talked to Giles about giving them another chance and 3 years later the Watcher and Slayer were married. After another 4 years, Giles had allowed someone else to be the head of the new Council in order to try and solve the problems his frequent travels had caused.

A gentle poke to his stomach caused the Watcher to come back from his thoughts and notice Buffy calling his name.

"You okay?" she asked once she realized she had his attention.

"Yes." He gave her a small smile as they both stood up and prepared for bed. "I was thinking, that's all."

"About..." his wife encouraged him to elaborate.

"No," he continued at her raised eyebrow. "I didn't think we'd end up here all those years ago."

"Ah." She climbed into their bed and snuggled up against his side once he settled himself under the covers. "Do you regret it?"

"No, but that's not to say that I don't wish certain things had not happened." He could tell she was thinking about the exact same instances he was thinking about. "But I'm very glad at where I ended up."

"Good," she placed a soft kiss on his lips before resting her head on his chest. "I love you, Watcher-mine."

He chuckled at the old endearment. "I love you too."

Within minutes, both were asleep.

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**Okay, folks. What do you think? Is this something you guys would like to see continued? Have any suggestions/improvements/things you'd like to see? Hit the ol' review button and drop me a comment to let me know your thoughts, suggestions and anything thing else dealing with this story. Thanks for taking the time to read this.**


	2. Talk

**A/N-** Okay, so I'm not sure if you guys need more to read before you can make a final choice, don't wanna review or what. But I'm gonna go ahead and post the next chapter and what not.

**Disclaimer****-** See Chapter 1 for the disclaimer.

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**Talk**

"_Oh brother I can't, I can't get through. __I've been trying hard to reach you, cause I don't know what to do. __Oh brother I can't believe it's true, __I'm so scared about the future and I wanna talk to you. __Oh I wanna talk to you"_

'_Talk'_- Coldplay

As soon as Evan's eyes moved to the next page , the words '_Bellatrix kills Sirius. Turn the page to find out what happens in the next two books. Love, Dakota_' took up the whole page. The 13 year old gritted his teeth as he shut his book and set it down on the table beside the couch, quickly followed by his feet carrying him to the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of water.

His parents had made a run to pick up Chinese take out for the three of them to have for dinner, seeing as how Brennan and Dakota were spending their Friday night at Junction. Evan had every intention of reading until his parents got back, but Dakota clearly put a stop to that.

Just as he walked back into the living room, he had gotten the cap off the plastic. An idea entered his head right before he took a drink, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"It'll just be for a few seconds," he muttered to himself. "Mum and Dad will never know it happened. I'll have it back to normal before they get back, we'll eat dinner, watch the movie and they'll never know."

Before he had a chance to back down, the teenager quickly flipped the bottle upside down and made the water stop before it hit the carpet. Focusing all of his attention on the floating trail of water, Evan made the liquid move around in front of him as it changed color. He continued contorting the multicolored water as his smirk grew into a full out grin.

"Evan Bradley!"

His head snapped in the direction of his parents, the water falling on to the carpet and leaving a multicolored stain in its wake.

"You're cleaning that up, young man." Buffy informed him as her and Giles placed the take out on the kitchen counter.

The boy watched his parents for a few seconds before snapping his fingers when they weren't looking at him. He turned to see no evidence of the stain and felt pride at what he had done.

"Do you not listen to a word I tell you?" from the tone of his father's voice, Evan knew he had been caught again.

"I do."

"Really? Because within the last minute or so, you've given me proof that you bloody well don't." Giles replied, his expression making it difficult for Evan to determine if he was angry or disappointed. Or both.

Silence fell over them as Evan trudged into the kitchen, slowly putting his plate together. Buffy waited until Giles had re-entered the living room with his plate before focusing on her youngest son.

"You know he just worries about you, Bug." She told Evan softly as finished pouring her share of lemon sauce.

"I just don't see what the big deal is," Evan sighed, picking chicken out of the container of spicy chicken before dumping a small pile of fried rice on the paper plate. "So I used a magick? It was harmless!"

"But if you don't learn how to control it now, then you're going to become addicted." Buffy explained as she split the tray of sushi with her son.

"How do you know that?" he tilted his head as he waited for an explanation.

"Because he's seen it happen before, Evan."

"Who did it happen to?"

"Willow," Buffy answered, expecting that to be enough for the 13 year old.

"One person, big whoop." He rolled his eyes as he drizzled soy sauce over his sushi.

"It happened to me," the sound of his father's voice caused the boy to turn around as Giles entered the kitchen. "Years ago, my friends and I had become addicted and no good came out of it. Because like Willow, we all lost control and we were met with tragedy. I don't want you to have to go through anything near what I did."

"If you'd been through it before, how come you didn't help Willow?"

"Evan!" Giles glanced at his wife and shook her head, signaling it was fine.

"Well, Evan...that year was fairly complicated for everyone. And I'll admit, I was more focused on my own problems. That and I, uh...may have been foolish enough to believe that would never happen to Willow." There was a pause as both father and son ran their fingers through their hair. "I don't want to watch someone I care about go down that path again, especially my own son."

The three occupants stood in the kitchen for a few moments. Evan shifted his weight to his right foot as he recognized the sincerity in his father's voice. Buffy's gaze move from Giles to Evan as she waited for what would happened next.

"What exactly did you go through, Dad?"

Evan noticed how his father tensed up, and he was sure his mother had done the same; talk of his father's past didn't happen. Giles opened his mouth several times as he thought of a way to tell his youngest son without going into detail. As the silence continued, Buffy sensed a changed in subject was needed.

"Why don't you go set up the movie while your dad and I bring the containers into the living room?" when her son's light green eyes turned to her, a small smile appeared on her face. "You don't want your brothers to interrupt our movie night, do you?"

Shaking his head in amusement, Giles watched Evan bolt for the living room and set to the task of setting up the DVD player. The Watcher walked over to the counter and grabbed some of the containers holding their dinner while Buffy grabbed the rest.

"You need to tell them, Giles."

"Buffy..." he sighed as he looked at her, both of them too tired to get into an argument. "I've told them enough."

"Enough? All you've said to them was that you did really bad things and left it at that." There was a slight strain her voice as she attempted to keep the conversation from Evan.

"How am I suppose to tell them that I used to be everything we hate? How do you expect me to sit them down and tell them that I spent the better part of two years hopped up on drugs and magicks, drinking myself into oblivion and acting out every self-destructive and criminal impulse that over came me?" Giles demanded as if she had the answers. "How do I tell them that I murdered one my best friends because of our carelessness?"

When Buffy failed to give him an answer, Giles continued.

"I can't tell them right now, Buffy. My past isn't something I want to share. With anyone."

"What about me?" Buffy countered.

"Not even you. You know more than I ever wanted you to,"

"I hardly know anything, Rupert! Sure, you've told me enough about your past that I have small ideas but that applies to your Ripper days. What about your family, huh?" The Slayer took a breath to calm herself before the volume of her voice rose. "You never talk about them,"

"I don't talk about them because my family consist of my three sons, my wife, her friends and my sister-in-law." Giles turned and walked towards the living room, pausing before he left the kitchen. "Beyond that, I have no family."

Buffy watched her husband walk into the living, a smile on his face as he sat next to their son. She would never understand how she could know that man for majority of her life and not know a single thing about him. The sound of her son's voice caused Buffy to begin walking out of the kitchen.

"I'm coming," she chuckled as she sat on the other side of Evan, a fact that did not go pass the 13 year old. "Let's get this movie started, Bug."

Evan pressed play and the three of them began eating their dinner.

* * *

"Just ask her already!" Brennan looked at his dark haired friend, a warning in his eyes as a strawberry blonde sat in the empty seat at their table.

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Brennan gave her a small smile. "Cyrus is just talking outta his ass again. So Allie..."

"Yes?" her hazel eyes swept from Brennan to the gloating grin of their friend Cyrus.

"I was, uh...um, I was wondering..." he inwardly cringed at the awful stutter that he and his brothers had picked up from their father. "I was just thinking that...that maybe we should...well, I wanted to k-kn-know if..."

"Y'know, you look like someone who should be down there dancing." All three turned to see Dakota motioning to the dance floor that was below the lounge area. "And since no one here's gonna ask, you wanna go dance?"

Dakota smirked at his twin as Allie turned to look back at Brennan, her head slightly tilted in question.

"What were you going to say, Brennan?"

Instead of answering, he just gave her a smile and nodded his head towards his brother. As soon as the two had walked down to the dance floor, the blonde 16 year old rushed to the balcony railing and scanned the area for them. When he found them, he kept a close eye on them to make sure Dakota didn't try to do anything.

"She won't wait forever, Watcher." Cyrus pointed out as he stood next to his best friend.

"I know," Brennan sighed as he leaned against the railing.

"She'll move on to someone who shows an interest," Cyrus continued, his blue eyes looking at the sulking teenager. "And Dakota's pretending to be interested, but Allie doesn't know that. She'll go to him and all will look good, he'll try to get into her pants and then..."

"Shut up, Cyrus! I know what he's trying to do and I know how well that plan will work out for him." Brennan tugged at his left earlobe as he forced himself to look at his friend. "I just can't seem to say anything meaningful to her. Hell, I flirt better with a bloody vampire than I do with her!"

Cyrus opened his mouth to argue the statement, but closed it as soon as he realized how right Brennan was. Knowing there was nothing else to say, both teenagers just settled for sitting back at their table and fell into easy conversation.

* * *

Dakota had taken advantage of the fact that Junction closed at midnight by leaving with his friends two hours before the club closed. So instead of flirting with the girls back at the club, the group was smoking cigarettes at the local elementary school.

"Any plans of snatching up that girl you were dancing with?" Jared asked as he took the lighter from Dakota.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"If he does, it'll be to sleep with her." Dakota shoved Doug as everyone laughed, watching his lighter being tossed to Kyle, the last member of their group.

They continued to joke around as moved about the playground, jumping on top of the monkey bars and sitting. The sound of footsteps echoed over the area, causing the group to look over and see a man walking towards them. Dakota was the first to jump off his perch, his left hand gripping the small vial of holy water he carried with him. The stranger beckoned the 16 year old over, a lopsided grin on his face.

"I'll be right back," Dakota muttered as he made his way over to the man, his whole body prepared to do what his parents had taught him.

When he was close enough, Dakota took in the man's appearance. The stranger's hair was about a shade darker than his own and stuck up in every direction, his eyes were dark and held a certain gleam to them and there was just something about him that didn't set right with the 16 year old.

"How can I help you?"

"I got a message I need you ta deliver to your dad," Dakota raised an eyebrow at the rough English accent, his grip tightening on the holy water.

"How do my dad?" the teenager countered.

"His name's Rupert Bradley Giles, do I pass?" the stranger waited a few moments before say what he needed to say. "Tell him that I'll be seeing him soon,"

"You have a name, buddy?"

"My name's Stephen." He chuckled when he watched Dakota open his mouth to, more than likely, ask a question. "And give him this."

Dakota caught the book just before it hit him the chest, his gaze dropping to the object. The book had clearly seen better days and felt as though it would fall apart at the simple act of opening it, which he was debating on doing.

"It's a copy of Bram Stroker's _Dracula_ that my mum bought for Rupert when he was about 12 years old. There's an inscription in there," The stranger told him, his hard gaze never leaving the teenager. "He thought he 'ad lost it. Give that book to him, tell him my message and he'll know who you're talking about."

There was a stretch of silence as Dakota continued to look at the book before he looked up, a question ready on his lips. But any words he had planned never came out as Dakota looked around, startled by the sudden disappearance of the man.

"Whatever." He muttered as he made his way back to his car.

* * *

"Are you sure he said his name was Stephen?" Giles asked, yet again, as he continued to stare at the book.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Dakota answered, annoyance in his tone. "And before you ask, yes I'm sure he had an English accent."

Giles just nodded absently as he walked out of his son's room and down towards the living room. Buffy told the teenager good night before she went after her husband, just as confused as their children had been when Dakota had told Giles what had happened.

"What's going on?" she asked as she walked into the living room, watching as her Watcher poured himself a drink.

"It's nothing, Buffy." He muttered before knocking back half of the glass.

"Clearly it's something if you're drinking." She walked over to stand next to him at the liquor cabinet, placing her hand on his forearm. "Do I need to be worried?"

"No," he turned to look at her and gave her a small smile. "I can handle this."

He grabbed his glass, the bottle and the book and walked off in the direction of the study. The sound of the door closing let Buffy know that this was something Giles was going to keep to himself.

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Okay, leave a review and tell me what you think and anything else you want to.


	3. Trouble

**A/N-** Wow...it's been a while since I updated this story. But that's life for you...life and college don't really mix well with writing, as I'm discovering. Anyways, thanks to those who have reviewed, favored, and alerted this fic. It let's me know that there are people out there who want to read what I have planned for our favorite team of Slayer and Watcher. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

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**Trouble**

"_Oh no, what's this? A spider web and I'm caught in the middle. So I turn to run, and thought of all the stupid things I've done. And oh, I never meant to cause you trouble. And oh, I never meant to do you wrong"_

'_Trouble'- _Coldplay

"Did you find anything out about Dad's mystery friend?" Dakota jumped up on the counter, his right elbow coming to rest on top of the cash register.

"No, I didn't." Brennan replied, glaring at his brother. "You know you can't sit up here, Kota."

"Who's gonna stop me?"

"Get your half-English ass off my counter," the sound of the slight Texan accent caused the blue-eyed 16 year old to jump to the floor, a few stacked books falling next to his feet. "You're pickin' that up."

Dakota grumbled as he picked up the books, placing them back on the counter. The owner of the voice gave Dakota his infamous cowboy smile as he walked over to the bookcase to the right of the register, putting away a small stack of books he held.

"Ryan, do you want me to put these demonology books upstairs?" Cyrus asked as he walked out of the inventory room, holding up a pile of leather bound books.

"Just leave them back there," Ryan answered as he finished shelving the books. "Some of those are the Boss-man's books."

"You know Dad hates that name, right?" Brennan chuckled as he looked at his employer.

"Yeah, but it's also true." Ryan grinned, combing his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. "If he wanted me to stop calling him that, then he shoulda fired me once I graduated from Klein. Or he shouldn't have signed me on as partner of the book store,"

"Yeah but..." Brennan began, only to be cut off by a brunette.

"He has a point, Watcher." She smiled as she sat at the table in the middle of the store, starting up her laptop. "And you know Giles secretly enjoys being annoyed by him."

"Thanks, babe." Ryan winked at his fiancée.

"Yeah, thanks for encouraging him Sarah." The twins muttered.

Ryan and Sarah had known the twins' parents since they were sophomores at the high school, starting out by working at the bookstore Giles had started to keep himself busy. Within the next five years, the two had found themselves involved in the world of the Watcher and Slayer. And six years after that, they were heading off what Buffy had dubbed 'the Junior Scoobies'.

"What are we thanking Sarah for?" Cyrus wondered as he hopped up on the table next to her.

"Inflating Ryan's ego," Dakota answered.

"Anyways...how am I suppose to find out who this guy is, Dakota?" his twin asked, bringing the conversation back on topic. "And why do I have to do it?"

"You're the one who wants to be a Watcher...hop to the research,"

Ryan, Sarah and Cyrus all shared a look, knowing better than to get involved in any Giles family business; unless they were brought into the business by one of the family members. So the three of them set about doing their previous tasks, letting the twins discuss whatever it was that was going on.

"There's no last name or distinguishing feature about this guy that would make this any easier. And Dad keeps that book hidden, so it's not like we can even read the inscription...you're probably making a bigger deal than it needs to be, Kota." Brennan sighed as he leaned on the counter, his fingers tapping against the wooden surface.

Dakota opened his mouth to argue, only to close it when he realized his brother had a point. Giving Brennan a look, they both came to the conclusion that they would keep a close eye on their father and if things seem to get out of hand, they would both resort to their inner-Scoobies.

"Not that I'm trying to get involved in anything, but I thought you didn't care much for Giles?" Cyrus asked as he walked over to the register, looking at his best friends.

"Just because I don't like my dad doesn't mean I can't worry about certain things," the dark haired Giles answered, running his fingers through his hair. "Besides, he's obviously keeping secrets again. And if those secrets put the rest of us in danger, someone has to care enough to protect us if he doesn't."

A silence settled over the shop at Dakota's comment, no one wanting to start up that discussion. Ryan gave Sarah a look, to which she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to her activities on her laptop.

* * *

Evan stared at the fence across from him, his feet in the water as he sat on the edge of the pool. He loved having time to himself, especially when he spent that time by his pool. A million thoughts were running through his head, none that he was particularly focusing on. If he decided to focus on any of the thoughts going through his head then he would end up worrying more and more about what was going on with his family, and that was something a 13 year old shouldn't have to deal with. At least that's what Evan thought.

But now was not the time for him to contemplate what was and wasn't right for a teenager to deal with, now was the time for him to not have to worry about anything going on his life. And with his parents out to dinner and his brothers doing whatever it was they did on Saturday nights, Evan had all the time to himself that he wanted. He closed his eyes and leaned back on his hands, a small smile on his face as any and all thoughts left his mind.

At the sound of the neighbor's dog barking, his eyes snapped opened and a scowl came to his face. With his moment of peace ruined, the 13 year old realized just how dark it had gotten. His fingers circled around the cross he had brought out with him because while vampires may have needed an invitation to get into a house, they didn't need one to get into someone's backyard. There was no point in him staying in the backyard now that his moment was gone.

Evan had just got done locking up the sliding glass down when a knock sounded at the front door, causing the teenager to grumble.

"Is it too much to ask for just a few hours to myself?" he muttered as he made his way to the front, opening the door once he got there. "Can I help you?"

A man who looked to be in his late thirties stood on the doorstep, his dark hair looking grimy as it stood up on end. His jeans looks tattered and his shirt looked as though he had just got done playing in the dirt, the collar of his jacket pulled up.

"I'm lookin' fer Rupert Giles," the man replied, his dark eyes sweeping over the boy.

"He isn't here," Evan answered, his body prepared to take action if the stranger tried anything.

"You look a helluva lot like 'im, but you already knew that." the smirk that came to the man's features didn't help ease Evan's feelings of discomfort. "Mind if I come in and wait 'til he gets back?"

All the 13 year old did was step to the side, his green eyes boring into the stranger.

"That's not an invitation,"

"I know it isn't," the boy fixed the man with a glare at the lack of movement, his discomfort rising at having his suspicions proven.

"Ya even got that bloody glare down," the stranger chuckled. "Tell ya what, let me come in so I can wait for Rupert and I won't do anything."

"I'm not stupid,"

"It's just two words."

"Doesn't mean I'm gonna say them, does it?" Evan remarked, his eyes not leaving the vampire.

"What aren't ya gonna say?"

"Come in," he answered. "It's not gonna happen...ever. Crap."

The man's face morphed into what Evan had heard his mother refer to as a 'game face', causing the teenager to scramble away from the door. The vampire strolled through the open door and approached the youngest Giles, a sinister smirk on his distorted face. Evan felt his heart pound against his chest and silently cursed his fear-induced paralysis, his eyes closed shut as the vampire picked him up.

"I need you ta listen very closely to me, kid." He growled, his fingers digging into Evan's arms. "Yer dear ol' dad isn't to know that I can come in, otherwise very bad things will happen to you. Got me?"

Not trusting his voice, the teenager just nodded. His body tensed up as he felt the vampire's breath against his neck, his face screwing up even more as he prepared for the pain he was sure to come.

"Rupert's gonna wish he was never born when I'm finished, gonna regret that he took my family away from me." The demon whispered, throwing Evan against the wall.

He groaned as the back of his head slammed against the wall, barely registering being picked up again. Once his focus came back to him, the vampire wrapped his fingers around the side of the boy's head before slamming it against the corner of the hallway table. Evan crumpled to the floor, the beginning signs of a black out quickly overtaking him.

* * *

It was nearing eleven o'clock when Giles pulled his car into the garage, giggles still escaping him as him and Buffy recounted memories of their time at the first Sunnydale High. The couple had had a nice evening out, a sense of normal having fallen over them as soon as they had arrived in the Woodlands, and any arguments they had had in the past few days pushed aside when they turned into Market Place.

Buffy had talked Giles into eating at Johnny Rockets, which was followed by a trip to Coldstone for ice cream. And as they walked down Market Place, a detour to Borders had taken place and after an hour Buffy had walked out of the bookstore with a mocha and Giles had left with a copy of Stephen King's _Salem's Lot_, much to the amusement of his wife.

"God, I miss the library." Buffy giggled as she ducked out of the Mustang.

"I think it's safe to say that we all miss it, love." Giles added, his arm going around her shoulders when she walked over to him before they entered the house.

"We're home, Bug!" Buffy yelled as Giles locked the side door, both expecting to hear their youngest son's voice ask them about their night. "Bug?"

The Slayer looked over at her husband when only silence greeted them.

"Evan?" Giles called as they started walking towards the living room.

Again they were only met with silence, and both were starting to feel panic rise up.

"He has to be upstairs sleeping," Buffy reasoned. "He did look pretty tired when we left."

As they made their way to the stairs, both stopped when they saw their son sprawled on the tile in front of the front door. Buffy's hand gripped the sleeve of Giles' shirt before they knelt at Evan's side to try and coax him into consciousness.

"Mmmmm?" the 13 year old grimaced at the throbbing in his skull, his body instantly tensing when he felt hands on him.

"Evan?" the sound of his parents' voice caused him to relax, his eyes slowly opening up.

"Mum?" he whispered as he allowed Buffy to help him into a sitting position. "Ow."

There was a moment filled with questions as his father made sure Evan wasn't concussed, which Buffy was relieved when Giles said he was fine.

"You'll have one hell of a headache for a while, and a nasty bump, but nothing worse." Giles concluded. "What happened, Evan?"

The teenager looked at his parents as they sat on the floor, his bottom lip making its way in between his teeth as he chewed on it. The vampire's threat rang in his head, but the idea of not being safe in his home wasn't something he could handle.

"A guy came by looking for you," his gaze looked at his father before dropping back to the floor. "I dunno who he is, but he's a vampire."

He could leave the explanation there and let his parents think he had stumbled back in fear, leading to him hitting his head. But the fear in mother's eyes and the panic in his father's caused him to continue.

"He tricked me into inviting him in and all he did was knock me out, but he threatened you Dad. He said something about you taking his family away..." he trailed off when he saw Giles tense up, the panic and fear in his eyes clear.

"Honey?" Buffy asked, her hand resting on his forearm. "Giles."

"I'll take back the invitation," was all he said as he climbed to his feet, leaving to gather the needed supplies for the spell.

"Mum?" Evan turned to look at Buffy, hoping she could give him some insight.

"I don't know, Bug." She answered as she got to her feet, helping Evan stand up. "C'mon, you need to get some rest."

* * *

It was three in the morning and Giles found himself in the training room, his chest heaving from his continuing assault on the punching bag. He was sure that his knuckles were bruised, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Evan's words kept echoing in his head. The Watcher knew what he needed to do, but he couldn't bring himself to dial the numbers.

The thought at his son being attacked by that monster made him see red, his fist pulling back before moving forward. Instead of feeling the worn material of the punching bag, his fist connected with the wall due to his poorly aimed punch.

"Fuck!" he swore, holding his left hand close to his torso as he sat on the couch Buffy had asked to be there.

After he regained his composure, and calmed down a little, Giles picked up his mobile from the cushion next to him and flipped it opened. He debated on who to call first, but decided on getting the worse of the two calls done with first. There was a ringing for a few seconds before the line connected.

"What do you want, Rupert?" an agitated voice answered.

"Why didn't you tell me about Stephen?" he clenched his jaw in pain as he flexed his left hand.

"It wasn't any of your business. You made it clear that we weren't your family..."

"Don't give me that, David. It bloody well was my business and you know it," he hissed. "And it isn't as if you objected to what I said, neither one of you. I'm going to ask you again, why didn't you tell me about your brother?"

"As much as I would love to discuss family with you Rupert," David sneered. "I have more important matters to attend to since someone backed out of his role as Head of Council."

"You don't get to hide behind the Council, David." Giles said, his temper barely in check.

"If you're so desperate to know, call Rachel." David snapped. "And the next time you call me, it better be about something to do with your Slayer. Otherwise I don't want to hear from you,"

The harsh sound of the dial tone rang in Giles ear, as he calmed himself down. He had never liked dealing with David, even when they were children he avoided talking to him if he could. The only time the two ever talked civilly to one another was if it dealt with anything related to the Council or the occult. As he listened to another set of ringing, he pushed aside his anger even more.

"Rupert?" the gentle voice caused a smile to form. "I wasn't expecting you to call,"

"I need you to tell me what happened to Stephen when he went missing,"

By the length of the pause, Giles realized just how out of touch with his family he had become.

* * *

**So what do you guys think? Let me know by clicking on the review button, and for those who take the time to review get to go to the midnight release of Deathly Hallows with me and this fic (and Giles) tonight. Hope to hear from you guys.**


	4. Name

**A/N-** Here's another update. Yay! I had to get this written to counter out what happened in the newest issue of the Buffy season 8 comics, even though I haven't gotten to that issue it as hard not to be spoiled. If you know what happens, then I'm sure you're just as upset at how things turned out as I am. It was a sad day yesterday for fans, and it's gonna be a sad week for me. -sad face- Anyways, now that I've got the depression outta the way...enjoy the latest chapter.

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**Name**

"_And scars are souvenirs you never lose, the past is never far…And don't it make you sad to know that life is more than who we are. We grew up way too fast and now there's nothing to believe, and reruns all become our history."_

'_Name'- Goo Goo Dolls_

"Giles," Buffy gently shook her husband's shoulder, a small frown on her face as she watched his head shake in some sort of denial. "Giles."

She upped her efforts to wake the man, wondering exactly what dream could possibly keep him in such an unusual deep state of sleep. But the longer it took her to wake him up, the more she was convinced that it was not a good one.

"Rupert!" her voice was louder than her previous tries, which finally coaxed him to come back to reality. "There you are,"

Giles looked around the training room for a few moments, curious as to why he was sleeping on the couch in the basement before he remembered his late night workout. As his gaze fell to his kneeling wife, he gave her a groggy smile as his fingers ran through his sleep-tousled hair before he moved to actually sit on the piece of furniture, wincing at the popping coming from his back.

"What are you doing down here, love?" he asked as she moved to sit next to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I woke up and you weren't in bed, and it looked like you didn't even sleep there last night." She explained, moving to look up at him. "Which leads me to ask, why did you sleep down here?"

"I felt the need to work off some anger from last night's events," Giles gave his bruised and scrapped knuckles a quick glance before looking back at Buffy. "By the time I was calmed down enough, I was too bloody tired to climb the stairs."

Silence fell over the couple as their minds drifted to what they had come home to the night before. Buffy took Giles' hand in her own, intertwining their fingers as she leaned against his side once more. He knew there was something she wanted to ask, but was too afraid to. It was times like these that he was grateful to have such a strong Watcher/Slayer connection with his wife, the times when said connection didn't interfere with their marriage.

"You are allowed to ask, Buffy." He whispered.

"The vamp from last night was that Stephen guy," it came out more as a statement than a question.

"Yes," he answered, his eyes finding the floor interesting. "I don't want you to get involve, Buffy."

"What?" she jerked back to look at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "I'm a Slayer and he's a vampire, therefore I slay him. It's part of the job description,"

"I know, but this is different."

"How is it different, Rupert?"

"Because this is about me, and I'm the one who needs to handle it." Giles turned his body to face her as he briefly explained the situation. "Stephen wants me, no one else. What he did to Evan was a warning, nothing more. The boys are not in any danger, and neither are you unless you go out looking for him. This is something that I have to take care of,"

While Buffy didn't say anything, the look on her face was enough to let the Watcher know that she was not buying anything he had just said. And the way she calmly pushed to her feet and stood in front of him only further proved that fact.

"A vampire is after you for something that I know you will never tell me about. That same vampire has approached Dakota and somehow got Evan to invite him inside, where he knocked out my youngest son." The Slayer started, arms crossed over her chest as she glared at her husband. "And even though it's my job to slay him, you want me to sit on the sidelines and wait for him to do something to Brennan while you 'take care of it'? I don't think so, buster."

"Buffy..." he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"This Stephen guy is a VAMPIRE, Rupert." Buffy went on, despite his efforts to say something. "I don't know if you've forgotten but his type like to kill innocence people. So me wanting to slay him isn't just about the fact that he..."

"Buffy!" Giles was standing in front of her as he finally got through to her. "Please, don't get involved. I can't afford to lose you, love."

She finally registered the genuine look of fear on his face at the idea of her getting involved. He was honestly convinced that, for whatever reason, she wouldn't come back to him if she went out and looked for this vampire. Heaving a sigh, Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his chest.

"Okay, I'll stay out of it." She agreed, crinkling her nose as the words left her mouth. "But if he comes after the kids in any sort of fashion, I will go after him and you will tell me about this whole taking his family away business. Understand?"

"Yes, dear." He replied, hugging her to him.

The couple moved back to the couch and just sat there for a while, enjoying the early morning silence. And when Buffy had told him the lack of another warm body in their bed was the reason she was up at six in the morning on a Sunday, Giles merely held her closer to him and apologized. He briefly explained his late night workout and the reason his left knuckles were more bruised and scraped, not to mention swollen, than the knuckles of his right hand.

"What were you dreaming about?" her question took him by surprised, but he answered nonetheless.

"It started out as a memory, really." His hand ran through his sleep-ruffled hair as he recalled what his mind had played during sleep. "I was leaving for Sunnydale shortly after I was called to be your Watcher when someone that I had grown up with came into my flat, trying to make me stay for another two days to attend my father's funeral. To make a long and dull story short, he accused me of being a coward and listed every instance that proved the accusation."

"And?" at his expression, Buffy rolled her eyes. "You said it started as a memory, so something changed."

"Oh. Right," Giles cleared his throat and finished. "Then you showed up, and the whole thing turned into a nightmare."

"Glad to know you think so highly of me, Giles. Y'know, most men marry the woman of their dreams. Not the woman of their nightmares,"

"It turned into a nightmare because you agreed with him," he clarified. "And I can't say I disagree now."

"So dream me mentioned you leaving after the whole affair with Spike thing, huh?"

"But that isn't what made me agree," it came out so soft that if Buffy didn't have Slayer hearing she probably wouldn't have heard him. "You said something along the lines of me leaving even when I knew you were pregnant."

Silence settled over them once more as Buffy watched his guilt and a million other emotions flash in his eyes before he looked away. At the mention of that pregnancy, her hands placed themselves protectively over her abdomen. The blonde Slayer couldn't bring herself to say anything, afraid that her voice would break whatever had come over her husband. As painful as it would be to talk about what had happened, she was willing to push her emotions aside if it meant that Giles would finally open up to her about how that chapter in their lives made him feel.

As quickly as the small mention had come, it was gone when Giles stood up and made his way to the stairs. He said something about taking a shower and getting into some clean clothes, never looking back at his wife.

* * *

A low groan of frustration escaped Dakota as he searched through his father's study, determined to find that copy of _Dracula_. He was currently opening and closing the desk's drawers, occasionally reopening the same drawers, and checking for any hidden panels that could possibly hold the inscribed book. After hearing about what had happened to his younger brother the previous night, he wanted to know exactly what was going on more than ever. And the 16 year old knew the old copy of the book would hold shed some light on the situation.

"Where the hell is it?" he flopped into the chair, blue eyes searching the bookshelves for the beaten up spine.

Evan had wanted to help him search for the book, but Dakota didn't want his baby brother to get involved in the research for the connection their father had with this vampire. So Dakota had told the youngest Giles to take it easy and rest, just like their parents had told him, and he would let him know what he had found out. As for Brennan, well Dakota didn't even want to tell his twin that he was going to snoop around in the study. Telling Brennan that was only going to lead to a pointless argument on right and wrong, and that would somehow lead into a heated discussion about their father.

Dakota would never understand how Brennan could willingly defend their father after what he had done, or what he had done to them that they knew of. The blind trust that his twin put in their father was not something that Dakota could do, not when Rupert Giles had a habit of leaving his family when things got too rough, even though he knew the very first time was something that his mother had caused. The close father/son bond that Brennan had with their father wasn't something that Dakota had ever experienced, and it wasn't one that he wanted. Not after the things that the Giles family had been through because of his father's actions, reactions and words.

The teenager decided to continue his search by actually walking over to the bookcases, his gaze taking in each book title as he inspected the shelves. The sound of the study door opening caused Dakota to turn around and give his father a sheepish smile.

"Hey, Dad." He said, a small wave accompanying his greeting.

"I assume you're looking for this?" the object of his snooping was held in Giles' hand, a knowing look on his father's face. "Dakota, I'm not even going to ask why you were looking for it. But I would appreciate it if you did not go about trying to get in the middle of something that does not concern you,"

"But it does concern me, it concerns all of us." He countered. "Who is this guy and what did you do to royally piss him off?"

"Watch your language, young man." Giles snapped as he walked over to the desk, the book being placed on the surface under his hand.

"Why aren't you out there looking for him while it's daylight? Mum said you were gonna handle it," Dakota stated, walking over to where the Watcher was. "So why aren't you out there handling it? Why aren't you out there trying to protect your family?"

"Dakota Alexander Giles, enough!" Giles cut over his son. "I am handling it, and you need to let it drop. You're overreacting to a situation that you know nothing about,"

"Only because you don't tell anyone anything about you, Dad." He pointed out. "How can you expect any of us to trust you when you won't give enough information to prove that you're the person for the job? Why is it so hard for you to let your family know about you?"

"And why is it so hard for you to not meddle in things that don't concern you? I understand that you're concerned and that you want to help, but I need you to not worry about this, Kota. Alright?"

Dakota just glared at Giles before shaking his head, muttering a small 'whatever' as he walked out of the study. If he wanted to take care of this vamp problem and risk his family's well being, than Dakota wasn't going to stop him.

At the slamming of the study's door, Giles slumped in the desk chair and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he pulled the novel closer to him, carefully opening the cover to read the inscription. '_For the times you want to forget that vampires are real, just read this novel to go back to the days when you would spend hours listening to me read you classic horror stories such as this one. You are allowed to be a little boy, Ru. Love, Natalie.'_

A small smile pulled at his mouth as he remembered the times he spent with the woman who was more of a mother to him than his own had been. _Dracula_ had been a favorite of theirs, which had prompted her to give him her copy when his father told him he was to be a Watcher.

"Who's Natalie?" Giles jumped at the sound of his wife's voice, turning around to glare at her. "I didn't mean to read over your shoulder, honey. So who is she?"

"She was Stephen's mother," he explained as he went back to look at the object. "She was also my father's ex-wife."

The sound of heavy thud as Buffy dropped her water bottle echoed in the room as soon as the words left his mouth, making Giles realize what he had let slip.

"Bloody hell," he whispered, quickly making his way out of the room.

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**So what do you guys think so far? Hope you guys are still interested cos I actually know where I'm going with this and how things will play out and how this will end. Whoever reviews gets to out and party with me and this fic cos we both need a pick-me-up. And if you know what happened in the newest Buffy issue, whoever reviews will get to join me and this fic in a watching a marathon to honor a certain dead character -sniffle-**


	5. Little Wonders

**A/N- **Yay for another update! I actually had this one written the day I posted the previous chapter, but studying took priority of getting this bad boy up. With that said...enjoy!

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**Little Wonders**

"_Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists and turns of fate. Time falls away but these small hours, these small hours still remain."_

'_Little Wonders'- Rob Thomas_

Giles had just reached the kitchen when Buffy finally caught up with him, her fingers wrapping around his wrist and pulling him to face her. Even though he was using all his strength to get her to release him, it paled in comparison to Slayer strength.

"Your dad has an ex-wife?"

"Let me go, Buffy." He continued to try and get her let go.

"You can't just say things like that and expect me to let it slide, Rupert." Buffy pointed out, unknowingly tightening her hold on him. "Even if you did let it slip, it's out in the open now and you better explain."

"Buffy." He growled, taking a few steps towards her to try to relieve the pain encircling his wrist.

"Rupert, please." She begged him as her grip relaxed slightly. "I know you as a Watcher, a husband and a father, but I know nothing about you as a person. You know everything about me, inside and out, so I think I deserve to know about you. Just a little background info would be great,"

The pleading in her eyes forced Giles to rein in his emotions, the more logical part of him knew she had a point. It was only fair that he allow her to know more about him than she did. And he did bring this conversation on himself by letting that small detail slip.

"My father had three children with Natalie; Rachel was the oldest, David was two years younger than her and Stephen was three years younger than David." Giles began, absently rubbing his already bruising wrist when his wife let go. "Father had been having an affair for some time, which resulted in him divorcing Natalie when she was three months pregnant with Stephen in order to marry his pregnant mistress. I was born nearly three months after Stephen and I was hated for it.

"My mother resented me because she felt as if her being pregnant with me was the only reason Father married her, David hated me because he was no longer the 'star potential Watcher' and Stephen loathed me because Father neglected him when I was born." He began pacing in front of Buffy, willing himself to continue. "Father only ever saw me as a Watcher, knowing I was going to be one of the best. And that fact alone irked David and Stephen to no end. Growing up, Stephen wanted nothing to do with me and constantly picked fights with me if we were in the same room. Once I turned ten, David only ever spoke to me if it had anything to do with the Council, Watchers, Slayers, the occult and things of that nature."

Buffy watched her husband walk back and forth, listening as he opened up for a brief period of time. She refused to interrupt him, afraid that he would go back to being the private and closed off man he was.

"Both my half-brothers couldn't fathom what made our father so certain that I was worthy of being a Watcher, especially when I began rebelling when I turned fourteen." The Watcher stopped his pacing, opting to lean again one of the counters as he looked at the tile of the kitchen. "By the time I had decided to come back to the Council after my Ripper days, David knew I wasn't Watcher material and Stephen's hatred for me grew when I was let back into the organization. Needless to say, both of them never cared for me nor I them."

"What about their sister, your sister? And Natalie?" Buffy timidly asked, gently taking one of his hands in hers. "What did they think of you?"

"They thought the world of me," Giles sighed, a slight smile on his face. "Rachel was everything an older sister should be, and Natalie was the mother I never had. To them, it wasn't my fault that my father was a cheating bastard and that I was an innocent brought into a horrible circumstance."

"They were right, Giles. You can't be blamed for their family breaking up," her free hand rested against his cheek, making him look at her.

"Be that as it may, it would have been much easier if I hadn't been born." He whispered, his gaze looking at a point over her shoulder. "At least not to them. I can't tell you how many times I laid in bed wishing that..."

"Don't. However that sentence ends, don't finish it Giles." She cut him off, shifting to be in his line of vision. "I don't want to think about how things would've turned out if you hadn't been born or born to a different family. Sure, you're insanely jealous half-brother is out to get you but we'll get through it."

Giles looked at her, realizing that whatever reality where he hadn't been born into that family was not worth thinking about. No matter how awful his childhood and family may have been, being able to have Buffy was well worth it. Without saying another word, he pulled her to him and held her close.

"Thank you, I know that wasn't easy for you." She muttered, placing a kiss in the middle of his shirt covered chest.

"I don't keep my past from you because I don't trust you, love." His voice was muffled as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, ignoring the twinge in his neck and upper back at the position of his spine. "There are just certain things that I'm so ashamed of, things that I want to forget ever happened. I don't want to lose you for my past,"

Buffy wanted to tell him that wasn't true, that she wouldn't leave him because of things that happened long before he knew her. But she couldn't promise him that. So instead of replying, she merely turned her head and kissed him with all the passion she could muster. She was effortlessly picked up and placed on the countertop, her legs wrapped around his hips and pulled her towards him.

Giles eyes flicked to the digital clock on the microwave. It was only 6:30 am, almost four hours before the boys woke up. Deciding that was plenty of time to reassure him, Giles allowed his hands to travel under his wife's shirt and gently rocked against her to make his intentions clear. Buffy began to lift his shirt over his head to let him know they were on the same page.

* * *

The sight that greeted Brennan when he entered the living room was of his father lying on the couch with his mother stretched out on top of him. Buffy was watching their DVD copy of _Stephen King's_ _IT_ while Giles had his face hidden in the crook of her neck, his voice muttering something.

"Why is Dad hiding from the movie?" he asked, plopping down in the recliner.

"Your father's afraid of clowns," Buffy answered as she continued to watch the television.

"She knows this and yet she refuses to turn off the damned thing." He still refused to remove his face from the comfort of his wife's neck.

"He kills demons and helps slays vampires," Dakota waltzed into the living room before he sat on the floor, his back against the bottom of the recliner. "And he's reduced to a little boy at the mere mention of clowns."

"Not mention he has also stopped numerous apocalypses." Evan added, lying on the floor as he began to watch the movie as well. "Or is it apocalypi?"

No one bothered to answer Evan as they were all absorbed into the movie, with the exception of Giles as he refused to move his head away from his wife.

"Giles." Buffy warned when her husband began nipping at her neck.

All three boys turned their heads to look at their parents, their eyebrows raised in question. It was one thing for them to know that their father was affectionate towards their mother, but it was another thing for them to be in the same room while their father was behaving like a hormonal teenager. When Buffy gave them a smile, their attention went back to the movie.

"Rupert Bradley, knock it off!" Buffy slapped her husband's shoulder as he moved on to kiss the sensitive spot behind her ear.

"Minors are in the room, Dad" Brennan reminded, not wanting to look over at his parents.

"Not doing anything." Came Giles' muffled reply as he held his wife closer to him, his lips travelling down to her neck.

"Rupert, stop it." The Slayer pulled her back and looked down at him, rolling her eyes at the darken shade of his eyes. "Go make pancakes and waffles for your hungry family,"

"Yeah, we don't need to hear or see a baby being made." Dakota snickered as Evan and Brennan chuckled.

None of the boys needed to look at their father to know they were all receiving the patented Giles glare, which made them laugh even harder. Buffy carefully shifted to give Giles room to get off the couch, glaring at him when he tried to keep her from moving.

"Get up, big guy." She nudged him as he finally started to get to his feet.

"Oh I will, love." The Watcher smirked, letting his hand gently squeeze her hip.

"Whoa! Dad! We are right here!" the statements seemed to come from all three of his sons, Buffy and Giles laughing at the horrified looks on their faces.

"We'll continue this discussion tonight, honey." Buffy said as Giles made his way to the kitchen, not being able to resist embarrass her children even more.

The responding groans of disgust only made the two adults laugh harder.

* * *

Giles looked at the kitchen table in horror; Brennan has smothered his pancakes with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar, Dakota's pancakes were covered with chocolate sauce and marshmallow cream and Evan had covered his waffles with peanut butter. He could feel his teeth rotting just looking at the plates.

"It's a miracle none of you have diabetes," he commented as he sat down.

"You should be used to this by now, Giles." Buffy pointed out as she poured some chocolate sauce on her peanut butter topped pancakes. "And you're one to talk, mister."

"Hmmm?" he looked over at his wife before looking down at his waffles, noting the powdered sugar mixing with the syrup as chocolate chips melted. "I blame your sister for this,"

Evan giggled as his father shoved a forkful of his breakfast into his mouth to avoid further conversation. The 13 year old looked at the table and realized the only passable healthy item at the table was the two glasses of orange juice, one glass of milk and two glasses of apple juice.

"Do you any plans today?" Buffy asked as she swallowed a bite of her pancakes, quickly followed by a sip of orange juice.

"No, why?" all three teenagers answered, Dakota getting a glare from his father since he still had food in his mouth.

"Because I was thinking that maybe we could do something as a family. Like going to the movies or bowling,"

"I say we go bowling!" Evan chirped, nearly knocking over both his and his father's glasses of apple juice.

"Bowling sounds good," the twins agreed as they both tried getting the excess chocolate sauce with their last pieces of pancakes.

"Bowling it is," Buffy smiled as she looked over at her husband. "Right, Giles?"

Giles gave a small smile to his wife before looking at his sons. He hated bowling, and it was no secret that he hated the activity. So when it was decided that they would go bowling whenever they went out as a family, the Watcher normally stayed at home and missed out the bonding experience. But considering how things had been tense between not only him and Buffy, but also between him and the boys, Giles couldn't bring himself to stay behind.

"After we clear the table, we'll all go upstairs to get ready and head out." He answered, not missing the grateful look on his Slayer's face.

The rest of the family's breakfast was filled with jokes and laughter as each member finished up their plate. Just as Brennan was getting ready to put his plate in the sink, his gaze was brought to the state of his father's knuckles and the massive bruise around his wrist.

"What happened, Dad?" he motioned her head to his father's hands.

"Oh, um...I didn't taped my hands when I was using the punching bag last night." He explained.

"But what about your wrist?" Evan added, his attention also on his father's hands.

"Your mother uh..." he trailed off, not sure how to explain that she had forgotten her strength while they argued that morning.

"So didn't need to know that you guys are into bondage, Dad." Dakota interrupted, misunderstanding his father's hesitant explanation.

"What me and your father do is none of your business," Buffy answered, not wanting the boys to know the real reason of the bruise in case they got the wrong idea about why Giles had gotten a bruise in an argument.

There was a collective sound of scrambling as all three teenagers ran out of the kitchen, gagging sounds echoing throughout the house as they ran to their room. Buffy and Giles looked at each other with matching grins as they cleaned up the table.

"I love you," Giles put his arms around Buffy and looked at her.

"I love you too," Buffy leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, breaking it before it spiraled out of control and led them to a repeat of their actions earlier that morning. "Now come on, we have family memories to make today."

He chuckled as he followed her to their bedroom, preparing himself for the day's activities.

**

* * *

**

**So what did you guys think? I personally thought that the Giles family deserved a little slice of 'normal', especially since I know what I had planned for them. Anyways, if you update you'll be able to help me and this fic decorate Christmas trees. And Giles might make an appearance...and bring my lil' cardboard Giles ornament! That ornament is just too damn adorable**


	6. The Truth

**A/N- **So I finally got this chapter done, which is a big deal cos I was suffering from major writer's block. And even though I don't entirely like how this one came out, I don't even wanna try and re-do it. Anyways...enjoy!

* * *

**The Truth**

"_I__t's the elephant in the room and we pretend that we don't see it. It's the avalanche that looms above our heads, and we don't believe it. Trying to be perfect, trying not to let you down. Honesty is honestly the hardest thing for me right now."_

'_The Truth'- Kris Allen_

"So you really think it's good?" despite his efforts, the nervousness made itself known in Evan's voice. "I mean, you aren't just saying it's good to get me outta your hair right?"

"Evan, it's good. Just like your other short stories," his English teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, assured him as she placed his notebook down. "It's better than good, and you know it."

"You don't think I need to have my head checked out?" he kept his eyes trained on his notebook.

"Evan, writing horror stories does not mean you're unstable." The teacher assured him as she handed the spiral back to him. "You have yet to show that anyone needs to worry about your mental stability,"

He nodded in agreement as he put the notebook back in his backpack. For the past month, Evan had taken up the habit of stopping by his English teacher's room after school every time he finished writing a short story. The first couple of times he done so, a sense of anxiety settled in his stomach at the reaction his story would receive. The teenager had been afraid Mrs. Mitchell would tell the school counselor that there was something off about him based on the stories, afraid that using his mother's Slaying stories made him seem like a danger to society. But those fears had been cast aside over the past few weeks.

"You have a real talent for writing horror stories, Evan. If you keep this kind of writing up, you could have a future as an author." The two shared a smile at that comment. "Anyways, I'm glad you stopped by today."

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to know if everything was alright. You seemed…preoccupied during class, more so than usual." Mrs. Mitchell asked, concern in her expression.

"Yup, things are fine." The 13 year old answered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Some things have just come up at home and it's just added to the tension."

"What do you mean 'things came up'?"

"It's complicated, but my dad's handling it. If anyone can make things better, it's him." A proud grin came across his face, the belief in what he had just said showing in his green eyes. "I've gotta go. Bye, Mrs. Mitchell!"

Slinging his backpack on his shoulder, Evan ran out of the classroom and out of the middle school as he made his way across the street to the high school to meet up with his mother.

* * *

"How is your homework coming along?" Giles asked as he walked into the living room, sitting on the couch behind Dakota.

"Shouldn't you be helping Brennan with something?" the 16 year old continued to doodle on the page that was barely filled with his math homework.

"I'm here to help you, if you need it."

"Now you wanna help," Dakota mumbled.

Giles just sat for a while as he watched his son alternate between watching the television and staring at his math book. After five minutes of witnessing Dakota make no progress in his homework, he grabbed the remote and turned off the television.

"I was watching that!" the teenager turned around and glared at his father.

"Which is exactly why I turned it off," Giles explained. "You obviously can't do your homework while being distracted. So until that math gets done, no TV."

Dakota just gaped at him, not believing what was happening. His father had never had a problem with him putting off his homework before. Shaking his head, the 16 year old pushed to his feet and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed a Coke from the fridge and the jar of peanut butter from the pantry, scooping a fair amount on to a paper plate, before heading towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Giles' voice stopped him at the foot of the stairs.

"To the store," Dakota deadpanned, turning to look at his father. "Where does it look like I'm going?"

"Get back in the living room and finish your homework."

"Are you kidding? It's gonna get done before I go to math tomorrow." He argued. "You've never cared if I did after school or after dinner,"

"True, but that was before your teachers informed me of your failure to turn in homework, your poor test grades and your lack of attendance in some classes." Giles countered, looking at his son. "Therefore, you are doing your homework now."

"Or what? You'll ground me? News flash, I'll just sneak out."

At the look in his father's eyes, Dakota was aware that was the wrong thing to say. There was a brief second where the 16 year old was afraid that Giles might actually hit him and he felt his muscles tense in preparation to fight or take flight.

"Get in there and do your homework." Giles' hand gripped Dakota's forearm before dragging him back into the living room, releasing him next to the coffee table. "I'm so glad I have to make sure you do your work as if you were six instead of 16."

"This is so stupid," he grumbled as he placed his snack on the coffee table.

"Yes, because caring for your education is completely stupid." His father remarked, sending him a glare when he refused to sit and do his homework. "You're really going to make this difficult?"

"You're being unfair, Dad."

"Unfair? I'll tell you what's unfair, Dakota." The older man began. "Unfair is learning that my son is throwing away his education and future by being a moronic jackass."

"Well, maybe if you were a better parent you would have noticed my failure at school." Dakota smirked at the hurt look on his father's face. "Hell, if you were a better parent I might not be acting out like I am. You see? You're the one being unfair by not being a good parent, Rupert."

There was that flash in his eyes again, the one that made Dakota feel as if he was about to get hit- even thought his father had never laid a hand on him or his brothers.

"You don't get to talk to me like that, Dakota Alexander." Even though his voice was calm, it was clear Giles was seething. "You're a child and I'm the parent…"

"Then start acting like one! Why don't you actually do something about the fact that I might end up in trouble with the law?"

Giles took a step towards the teenager when a voice stopped him.

"What's going on?" both of the living room's occupants looked to see Buffy and Evan standing in the living room's entry way.

"Dad was about to hit me for not doing my homework."

Evan shifted his weight from one foot to another, his gaze going from his older brother to his father. The 13 year old and his mother had clearly walked in on something.

"You handle your son because I'm done," the Watcher stalked off up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door behind him.

"I don't even want to hear it," The Slayer fixed her attention on Dakota when he opened his mouth. "You're going to do homework and then you, me and your father are going to have a talk about how you've been behaving at school."

Before the 16 year old could even blink, Buffy made her way up to the bedroom she shared with Giles. She found her husband sprawled out on their bed, his arms locked behind his head, staring at the ceiling. The bed shifted as she sat next to him, her fingers absently running through his hair.

"What happened down there, Giles?" she asked.

"He wouldn't do his homework, simple as that." He answered, his eyelids drifting close. "I told him to, and thus an argument broke out."

"You looked like you were about to deck him," he cracked one eye open and looked at his wife. "Not that you would ever hit any of us. But you had that look like you wanted to hit someone."

"And how would you know what that looks like?" he propped himself up on his elbows and looked at Buffy.

"Ethan Rayne. Do I need to say more?" they shared a smile before Buffy brought them back on track. "So what happened down there?"

"It was nothing. I just let my doubts and fears take over, and that doesn't exactly go with my anger." He sighed, continuing to beat himself up for letting things get out of control. "Dakota pointed out a few things that made me realize I'm turning into my father,"

"You are not your father, Rupert."

"Right," Giles fell back on his pillow, his arm automatically pulling his wife closer when she stretched out next to him. "My father was oblivious to what was happening with me and when he did realize it, he didn't care enough to try to make things right. I, on the other hand, know what's going on with our son and yet I'm doing nothing to correct it. I'm not my father, I'm worse."

At that statement, Buffy sat up and looked down on the brooding Watcher.

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"Is it, Buffy?" they were now sitting up and facing each other. "How do you explain what's been going on with Dakota? Besides, what do you care about what I think of myself?"

There was a hint of something in Giles' eyes, but it was gone a second after Buffy had noticed it. Whatever it was had been brief, but it was there long enough for the Slayer to know something else was troubling her husband. Now it was just a question of whether or not she could get him to tell her.

"What's really going on here, Giles?" her tone had softened as she looked at him, her hand resting on his knee.

"What makes you think there's more?" the walls were up and he had no intentions of letting her in.

"Because I know you, Giles. There's more to what's going on inside of that head of yours," hazel eyes stared into green eyes as she begged him to tell her. "Don't keep me out, please. There's already so much between us, don't add to it."

"If that's the case, then what's one more thing?" Giles observed, looking away from his wife in case he slipped up and let her in. "I'm an expert at dealing with important things on my own, Buffy. I've had loads of practice with all that'."

"As much as I would love to argue with you, I'm gonna save my breath," she made her way to the bedroom door when a knock sounded. "But we're having a talk with Dakota about school when he's done with his homework."

Giles gave a noncommittal response as his Slayer opened the door; only to bolt to his feet at the urgent call Buffy gave him. Brennan was standing in the upstairs hallway with a look of barely controlled pain on his face. In the few seconds it took for the Watcher to see what had brought his son upstairs, he realized that the shirt Brennan should have been wearing was wrapped around his left hand and was stained with blood.

"What the hell happened?" Buffy demanded as they directed him to the master bathroom, Giles pushing him to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

"I just wanted to check out Dad's swords…" his voice failed him when he received glares from both of his parents.

"I'll go clean up the basement,"

In the blink of an eye, Buffy was leaving the bathroom and Giles was kneeling in front of Brennan with the first aid kit. Giles gave the teenager a sympathetic look when he removed the ruined shirt; the palm was neatly sliced across, the cut nearly halfway through the hand. Both father and son knew there would be a scar once it was healed.

"How come you don't take me to the hospital? Ow!" Brennan hissed as his father set about cleaning the slice, attempting to yank his hand away at the sting of whatever it was his father was using.

"Why am I going to pay someone to do something that I can do for free?" Giles replied as he prepared to stitch up his son's hand. "Hold still,"

Silence fell over the two as Brennan watched his father close the wound, a look of concentration on the older man's face. He noticed that his father stitched him up with ease, an obvious sign that he had done this one too many times. By the time Giles was finished, Brennan wondered if he would be able to perform such a task the same way.

"It'll hurt like hell for a while, and any time you make a fist with that hand, but you'll be fine otherwise." The Watcher explained as he put the medical kit away, washing the blood of his hands at the sink.

"Dad?" the 16 year old stood a few feet behind him, his eyes locked on his father's back. "You are handling this thing with that vampire, right?"

"What?"

"You're going to make sure he doesn't hurt us…you're going to take care of it, right?" he just needed to hear him confirm.

"Of course I am, Watcher."

Brennan watched as his father left the bathroom, and he couldn't help but feel let down. While Giles did confirm Brennan's question, it did not go unnoticed by the teenager that he hadn't looked at him while answering. And it was that one little factor that caused a small part of Brennan to doubt his father.


	7. House of Cards

**A/N-** I'm not sure how many more chapters I have planned for this one, but I do know what I want to happen form here on out. And I better cos I've been planning this half of the story since I started writing the first chapter. So enjoy!

* * *

**House of Cards**

"_But I'm too afraid to come clean cause my life's the flame in a house of cards. It's such a shame what I've become after years of breaking down. My whole life has come undone cause I'm trying to fake it all."_

'_House of Cards'- _Madina Lake

After talking with Dakota, which had resulted in another argument, Giles had taken off to clear his head. Dakota had somehow managed to make it so Buffy and Giles were arguing with one another again instead of actually discussing the 16 year old's behavior. When Giles had almost said something he would regret for the umpteenth time, the Watcher had shrugged on his jacket and driven off on the motorcycle Buffy hadn't wanted him to buy.

He had no idea where he was going, but anywhere away from the house was ideal. It wasn't that he wanted to leave the way he did, but it was the only thing he could think of that didn't involve him blurting out something that would cause a fight that could potentially ruin their marriage. And thanks to Dakota, Giles was well aware that this wasn't the first time he had stormed out of the house during an argument.

A few minutes later found Giles in the parking lot of the deserted local park, the only source of light coming from his headlight. He turned off the motorcycle and made his way to the back of the park, standing near the slope that led into the creek/bayou. Once he had made sure there was nothing in his way, the Watcher sat on the grassy slope and looked at the seemingly still water. If it had been Friday, he was more than sure that he would have ended up at one of the local bars instead of the park.

His brow furrowed at that train of thought, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. That kind of thinking led him nowhere, and it bothered him even more when he acknowledged that it was true.

"Bloody hell," he dropped his head into his hands, knowing there was something wrong with a man who preferred a bar full of strangers to his family.

"Something on your mind, mate?"

Giles scrambled to his feet at the voice, his hand pulling a stake out of his inner jacket pocket. His eyes narrowed as Stephen held out a bottle of what was no doubt vodka.

"C'mon, Ru. You gonna deny your brother a chance to drink with you?" Stephen smirked, his dark eyes darting to the stake Giles gripped. "If I had wanted ta kill you, I would've."

The vampire chuckled as he took a swig from the bottle before offering it to Giles again, trying to entice him by shaking the bottle a little bit. Giles shoved the hand away in disgust, only to duck his head as Stephen threw the bottle at him. Alcohol dripped down his shirt, making the nicks from the glass shards sting, and he could already feel a bruise forming.

"Now look what ya made me do!" the creature kicked at a loose rock into the water below. "Someone paid good money for that bottle,"

"What do you want, Stephen?" his teeth were grinding against each other as he took a slight step forward, prepared to do what he needed to.

"Why is there always something up yer arse?" Stephen growled as he took one step closer to his half-brother. "And unless you intend to use that, put it away."

The Watcher tightened his grip on the wooden stake. Something didn't seem right about the situation. He had expected Stephen to launch straight into an attack if he ever saw him, or something other than this.

"How's that nephew of mine? I didn't cause too much damage, did I?"

"Stay the hell away from my family, Stephen!" Giles warned, his feet taking him several inches away from the demon. "Come near them and I'll give you a hands on explanation about why they called me 'Ripper'."

"I thought you were called that cos of yer sexual encounters." Stephen replied, looking Giles dead in the eye. "Does she know? Do you think yer pretty, young wife'll stay if she knew exactly what you've done? Think the Slayer will stick around if she knew about the people you've killed, the lives you ruined or about…"

Giles tackled the demon to the ground, the stake pressed against the area above his heart and the forearm of his free arm pressed against his throat.

"Do it, Rupert. Prove to me that yer the Watcher everyone thinks you are," Stephen laughed as he applied a little more pressure on the hand holding the stake, morphing into his game face. "Or show me what kinda dad you are."

"Get out of here, Stephen." He slowly got to his feet, pocketing the stake. "Don't let me catch you here again."

Without another word, Giles turned his back on his undead half-brother and walked back to his motorcycle. He knew he should have staked Stephen, but he just froze. And he wasn't sure why he choked like that.

"Do you understand what I can do, Rupert?" Stephen appeared in front of Giles, a hand gripping the front of Giles' shirt. "I will murder yer family in front of you. Hell, I'll turn Evan cos that boy is just burstin' with power. Might even turn the bloody Slayer and have her kill ya."

The more the vampire talked, the angrier Giles became. All he had to do was snap Stephen's neck and it would be over before anything else had to happen to family, before he lost his family. He imagined how easy it would be to break the vampire's neck, could hear the fatal snap in his mind. But the reality was all Giles could do was shove the demon away from him and continue on his way.

"Either you aren't what everyone thought you were," Stephen called after him. "Or you hate yer family. Or maybe you've gotten bored! Slayer ain't as young as she used to be, kids are tyin' ya down…but yer too bloody noble to just leave 'em. 'Ere I am providing ya an out to yer marriage. If yer done with Buffy, think I could have her?"

Giles spun around and rushed Stephen, only to find himself pinned to the parking lot. He could feel his half-brother's knee digging into his back, causing small jolts of pain whenever he struggled.

"Just remember," Stephen hissed in his ear, his fingers burrowing into the back of his neck. "When I take yer precious little family, you brought it on yerself. I gave you more than enough time to get rid of me,"

"Fuck off, Stephen!" Giles growled.

"I'll see ya around, Ru."

And just like that, Giles found himself alone in the parking lot.

* * *

"This isn't the first time he's done this," Dakota pointed out as Brennan looked at the clock again.

"I know, but the last time he did it was because Mum was seeing Angel behind his back." The blonde replied, causing both of them to pause and recall the aftermath of the ensouled vampire's secret visit. "And even then he didn't have a vampire trying to kill him, Kota."

"It's not there's anything you can do,"

Brennan looked at his twin and couldn't help the smirk that came to his face. As soon as Dakota recognized the look, he shook his head in protest.

"No, Mum will kill you if you go looking for him." The 16 year old tried to reason as he moved to stand in front of him. "I'm the one who sneaks out, not you."

"Then go sneak out and find him, Dakota!"

The twins stood in the kitchen for a moment, just staring at each other. When it was clear that Dakota wasn't going to leave, Brennan pushed passed him and headed towards the garage.

"I'll be back soon,"

* * *

Evan had been sitting at the desk in his bedroom, furiously scribbling words on the notebook. While his brothers paced the kitchen and his mother sat in her bedroom, the 13 year old worked on his latest short story to help deal with the emotions the latest fight between parents had sparked. He was angry at anyone, but he was angry at the situation.

His father had been gone for over two hours and they hadn't heard from him since he left. Evan knew that Dakota was pissed off at their father, Brennan was worried about what was going on and their mother was trying to play it off. But she couldn't fool the boys, they knew how much this was affecting her.

"Stupid!" he muttered as he ripped the piece of paper from the notebook, wadding it up and throwing it at the wall in front of him.

"Writer's block?" the boy spun around, nearly falling out of his chair, to see his mother enter the room.

"Not really," he shrugged, giving her a shy smile that could have rivaled his father's. "Are you okay, Mum?"

"I should be asking you that, Bug." Buffy chuckled as she sat on her son's bed, pulling the old and worn stuffed pig into her lap. "Your father went back and got this for me, before the big showdown at the new Sunnydale High. I didn't ask him to…we weren't even really talking at that time, but he still made sure Mr. Gordo was packed."

Evan watched as his mother picked at a loose string on the stuffed animal. He knew how much Mr. Gordo meant to his mother, because the pig meant just as much to him.

"He even made sure your brothers' stuffed dog and bear were packed. We almost left without him because he was searching our old house for them," a faint smile appeared on Buffy's face as she recalled their last day in Sunnydale. "Now he's the first to leave without looking back on what he's leaving behind. He's a completely different person and I know I caused it, or maybe I'm just seeing who he is for the first time. I'm sorry, Evan."

"What for?" the teenager had moved to sit next to his mother.

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, Dakota ran into the room with the cordless phone gripped in his hand. The expression on his face caused his mother to jump to her feet and reach for the phone. Evan sat on his bed, looking from his brother to his mother. He tilted his head as a way to question what the phone call was for, but Dakota just shook his head as Buffy mumbled a 'thank you' before clicking the phone off.

"Mum?" Evan asked, walking over to her as his older brother took the phone away from her. "What's going on?"

"That was the hospital." Buffy's voice was weak, her eyes locked on the wall ahead of her.

"What did Dad do?" Dakota questioned, his tone a mix of concern and anger.

There was silence in Evan's room for a long time, both teenagers afraid to further upset their mother. Evan began to chew on his bottom lip as the silence grew while Dakota absently tapped his fingers against his thighs.

"Mum, what happened?" the 16 year old blurted out, the quite making him jumpy.

"There was a wreck thirty minutes ago on Champions Forest. Someone was in the middle of the road and a vehicle swerved to miss him, but drove straight into a brick wall." With every word Buffy said, Evan and Dakota felt worry settle into the pits of their stomachs. "Whoever was in the road went over to the vehicle and attacked the driver…"

"Who was it?" Evan whispered, tears filling his eyes at the images running through his mind. "Is Dad alright?"

"It wasn't your father, Bug." Hazel eyes stared in the blue eyes of Dakota, who had to resist the urge to look away. "The car was a black Jeep. Where's your brother, Dakota? And don't lie to me,"

"He went looking for Dad an hour ago," he mumbled as his gaze went to carpet.

"Evan, I need you to stay here in case Rupert comes home since he left his cell phone here." Buffy never took her eyes off her son. "Dakota, you and me are going to the hospital."

Evan followed them down the stairs, stopping his mother before she left the house. He wanted to know what was happening.

"Brennan's in surgery right now, and that's all I know." She told her youngest, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "Wait for your father and have him take you to the hospital."

The 13 year old stood in the garage as he watched his mother back out of the driveway, hoping his father would come back before it was too late.


	8. Goodbye

**A/N- **I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I'm afraid to rewrite it in case it comes out worse. Enjoy

* * *

**Goodbye**

"_It's a shame that it had to be this way, it's not enough to say I'm sorry. It's not enough to say I'm sorry. Maybe I'm to blame or maybe we're the same, but either way I can't breathe. Either way I can't breathe. All I had to say is goodbye, we're better off this way."_

'_Goodbye'- Secondhand Serenade_

Evan sprinted into the garage, the keys to his father's car in his hand, as soon as he heard the rumble of the motorcycle pull into the driveway. It had been two hours since Buffy and Dakota had left for the hospital, two long hours of the 13 year old waiting for a father he wasn't sure would come back by morning.

"We have to go the hospital!" Evan yelled, his green eyes wide in terror as the keys were tossed at his father.

"What are you talking about, Evan?" Giles asked, bending down to pick the fallen keys.

"There's no time, Dad." He was tugging on his father's hand, teeth grinding together in determination to get some movement. "We have to hurry!"

"Not until you tell me what's going on,"

The sheer stubbornness of his father was the last straw for the 13 year old, causing him to pull even harder on his father's hand with the help of his abilities. He had only intended to use enough magick to get his father to the car but had ended up sending the older man crashing into the wall behind him.

"Crap!" Evan muttered, running over the crumpled form of his father. "Sorry, Dad."

"I've had worse," Giles pushed himself to his feet and looked down at his son, worry on his face. "Tell me what's going on in the car."

They had barely gotten out of the driveway before Evan launched off in an explanation on what had happened in his father's absence.

"So I've been waiting for two hours for you to get home," he was gasping for breath, his gaze locked on his father's profile. "I don't know how Brennan is, but we have to get there soon because it's been two and a half hours since the crash and Mum and Dakota are already there, and I've had to wait for you…"

"Evan," Giles cut him off as he glanced at the 13 year old. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to wait for me,"

"What were you doing for two hours?" his eyes widened at the faint smell of alcohol before hurt flashed in his eyes. "How come you drink every time you and Mum fight?"

"What?" Giles looked down at his now dry shirt, but that didn't mean the smell had worn off. "I wasn't drinking, Bug. I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time…someone threw a bottle at me."

The rest of the car ride was silent until Giles cleared his throat as he pulled into the hospital parking lot. He turned off the engine and placed a hand on Evan's shoulder to keep him in the seat.

"I want you to be prepared, Evan." The Watcher was staring at the steering wheel, not sure he could handle the expression on his son's face. "Things will probably change between all us, and I want you to know that I never wanted it to be this way."

"Dad?" he felt anxiety flood over him at his father's words, but he received no answer.

With a heavy sigh, Evan followed Giles out of the car and hurried towards the hospital. As they made their way to the room Brennan had been put in, the 13 year old did his best to take his father's advice but no preparation in the world would help him get through his mother's reaction.

"You bastard!" Buffy yelled, rushing up to Giles and slamming her fists against his chest; Giles' look of pain increasing with every blow until he finally gripped her wrists together. "Let go of me,"

Evan stood to the side and watched as his mother broke free of his father's hold, the sound of the slap echoing in the hospital room. Dakota jumped to his feet and pulled his younger brother to the other side of Brennan's bed, both boys staring at their parents.

"Tell me when he wakes up," Giles simply said before turning to leave the room, his cheek throbbing in pain.

He had made it a few feet from the room before his wife pulled him to face her.

"You don't get to walk out on us again, Rupert." She fumed, her arms hugging her torso as she glared at him. "That damn brother of yours put my son in the hospital. He caused Brennan to run into a brick wall and sure, his bones are gonna heal and he'll end up with some scars…"

"Then why are you so mad at me if he's going to be fine, Buffy?"

"Because he'll have little to no vision in his right eye! A large piece of glass was imbedded in his eye and did serious damage to it," the blonde explained, trying her best not to slap him in front of the occasion passing hospital staff. "You promised me Stephen wouldn't come near the boys, that he wanted you and not us. If you had just taken care of this in the first place, we wouldn't be here…"

"If I had taken care of this?" Giles interrupted, feeling his anger and frustration boiling under his skin. "You mean the way you took care of Angelus? You don't get to lecture me about having opportunities of preventing things, not after what I lost because you couldn't bring yourself to stake a psychotic vampire!"

"For as long I've known you, you've never had anything to lose. Not a life, not friends…nothing. So what did you lose, Rupert?"

"I lost the woman I loved! The woman I could have had a future with, but you took that from me. Just like you've taken everything else," he knew he shouldn't have said it, but everything had been coming down to this and he couldn't stop himself now. "I lost Jenny because of you. I never got a chance to tell her how much I loved her, but it didn't matter how upset I was because it didn't have anything to do with you!"

The more reasonable part of him wanted to stop at the tears that had collected in her eyes, but everything that he had kept to himself wanted to be said.

"But we got over that, or at least you did." He continued, taking no notice of Dakota or Evan standing in the doorway. "That pales in comparison to me finding out from Anya that you were pregnant. Imagine how I felt, Buffy; I was about to board a plane to England to get away from you when I find out that you were pregnant again. The big slap in the face was finding out you had lost the baby months after it happened. Having Dawn tell me about Spike trying to rape you was horrible, but to learn that he had killed my child- my unborn daughter…I've always had something to lose, Buffy. You've just been so absorbed in your own world that you've never noticed,"

"Do you even want me to go into all of the things I lost because you?" there was hate in her eyes as Buffy stared at him. "I lost a normal life, Rupert! The chance to be happily married without having to worry about shit like this…and you weren't the only one that Spike hurt. You weren't there to protect me, and it cost us. So you don't get to stand there and yell at me for losing our baby when it could've been prevented if you had stayed."

"You really expected me to stay after what I found out you had been going behind my back shagging that fucking monster?" they were attracting a small crowd, but neither seemed to care. "Do you understand how I felt after you came back? You were keeping me at a distance and it hurt me, Buffy. You stopped caring about the people who care about you, about your family. So I left, and I couldn't take the boys with me at the time so I let Anya take them because you clearly wouldn't have taken care of them."

Another slap and silence settled over the area. Buffy walked back to the hospital room, telling Dakota and Evan to go home with Giles. Evan walked over to his father while Dakota argued with his mother about wanting to stay with her.

"Kota, I need you to go with your father." She told him, sending a glare her husband's way. "You'll be safer there,"

The 16 year old stood in the room a moment longer before walking over to Giles and Evan. As the three made their way down the hall, the Watcher muttered for his sons to wait before heading back to Brennan's room.

"You really need to leave, Rupert." Buffy warned.

"I am, but there's something I need to tell you." Giles was looking at his son, trying to keep Buffy from seeing the torment in his eyes. "When this over with, so are we."

"What?"

"I can't keep doing this when we're both so miserable, Buffy. It isn't fair to you or the boys,"

Watcher and Slayer stood in the room as the weight of Giles's words sunk in. Giles couldn't bring himself to look at her, his gaze focused on the recovering body of his oldest. Even though he was the one who had said the words, it didn't make them less painful.

"Giles…" the tremor in the Slayer's voice nearly broke his resolve, nearly being the key word.

"It's for the best. As soon as Stephen's taken care of, I'll call the lawyer and start looking for a place to live. No need for you to move out," the words kept coming out no matter how much he wished he could take them back. "The boys can live with you and continue going to the same schools. Call me when Brennan wakes up,"

Without another word, Giles turned and left the room. Once he reached Dakota and Evan, they continued on their way to his car and drove home in silence.

* * *

"Your mum and I are getting a divorce," Giles muttered as they turned on to their street.

Dakota and Evan just sat in shock at the news, the 16 year old going into action once they pulled into the driveway.

"I hate you," Dakota said. "And the divorce? This is the best thing you've ever done as a husband and a father."

The car door slammed as Dakota got out, followed by the slamming of the door leading into the house. Giles just sat in the car as Evan stared at him.

"Dad…"the 13 year old started, stopping when his father held up his hand.

"Stay in the house, and make sure Dakota doesn't go anywhere." He instructed as he put the car in reverse. "I love you, Evan. Just like I love your mum and your brothers. Tell them how much I love them, and that I'm sorry."

"Why? You can tell them yourself." Evan couldn't help but feel the dread settle in his gut.

"I'm going after Stephen," Giles finally looked at his son and pulled him into a hug, kissing the top of his head. "Go in the house and stay there."

Confused, Evan got out of the car and watched as his father pulled out of the driveway. The 13 year old made his way into the house and just stared at Dakota.

"Where's he going?" the 16 year old asked, not picking up on his younger brother's mood. "He's running again, isn't he?"

"You're a prick, Kota." Evan marched over to his brother and gave him a good shove. "Dad loves you, and all you do is treat him like crap. Sure, he's made mistakes but so has Mum and I don't see you acting like this around her. So just shut the hell up about Dad,"

"What's gotten into you?"

"Dad went looking for Stephen," he glared when Dakota opened his mouth, no doubt about to criticize their father again.

"So why do you look like someone died?" Dakota jumped up to sit on the counter, running his fingers through his mused hair.

"I think Dad might,"

Green eyes locked with blue eyes as the seriousness of the upcoming events hit both teenagers.


	9. Little Lion Man

**A/N- **Sorry for the long wait. Life got in the way. But on another note, this story is coming to a close. Just a few more chapters...and I'm thinking of doing a few prequels to this. If that appeals to you, let me know in a review. Enjoy!

* * *

**Little Lion Man**

"_Tremble for yourself, my man, you know that you have seen this all before. Tremble, little lion man, you'll never settle any of your scores. Your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck."_

'_Little Lion Man'- Mumford and Sons_

Dakota and Evan had been sitting in the kitchen for an hour, neither one knowing exactly what to say. The 13 year old had wanted to call Buffy and tell her what was going on but Dakota had put a stop to that, saying- that given what had happened at the hospital- she probably wouldn't have cared as much as she should have.

"Dad'll be alright, Evan." Dakota finally said, not being able to stand the silence anymore. "He's a Watcher. And he's been through worse than this,"

"You don't understand, Dakota." His gaze was trained on the kitchen tile, running his fingers through his hair. "I think he's gonna find a way to die during this,"

"He's not gonna make this a suicide thing," the 16 year old argued. "Dad's not like that. He wouldn't do that to us."

The younger of the two opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off when a knock sounded at the front door. The siblings looked at each other, the question on both of their faces. When the knocking continued, they made their way to the front door. As long as they stayed inside- and didn't invite anyone in- then they were safe. With that in mind, Dakota opened the door.

"Surprise, surprise." The siblings took a step back at the sight of Stephen standing on the front porch, their mother held captive by another larger vampire. "C'mon out, boys."

"Stay inside!" Buffy warned, her eyes full of panic.

"If you stay inside, my friend here will drain yer mum. Understand?" at his words, the other creature forcefully tilted the Slayer's head to the side and lowered his head until he was millimeters from her neck.

The teenagers knew there was no way for them to grab a stake without Stephen knowing, and they knew their mother hadn't grabbed anything in her state of panic before leaving for the hospital. As scared as they were at what might happened if they stepped outside, the idea of watching their mother die in front of them scared them more than anything.

As soon as they left the safety of their house, Stephen grabbed both of them by the neck before dragging them to the car they had used. Within five minutes, Dakota and Evan were handcuffed and Buffy- with the forced assistance of Evan- was "handcuffed" by magick.

The three sat, uncomfortably, in the back seat while the two vampires drove them to wherever it was they had been hiding out in. Stephen turned around in the passenger seat to look his them, the smirk on his face making a feeling of dread settle in each of their stomachs.

"Let's complete this lil' reunion, shall we?" a cell phone was held in his hand before he set about dialing a number. "'ello, Ru."

Evan turned wide eyes on his mother and easily saw the fear on her face.

"I have yer family," there was a pause as the muffled voice of Giles sounded in the car. "Now, why would I make this easy for you? You have a choice; stay at the hospital and save yer very vulnerable son, or go to where Java Jazz used to be and save the others. If yer not at Java Jazz in an hour, then I'll tell them you say goodbye."

Dakota glared at the chuckling vampire while Buffy did her best to comfort the terrified 13 year old next to him. Stephen laughed louder at whatever it was Giles had said before his face vamped out.

"I could kill them right now and have you listen as I rip them apart since you think I'm bluffin'." There was a pause, and then Dakota yelled out as the demon leaned into the back and sank his fangs into his neck.

The car was filled with screaming for a few seconds until Stephen sat back in the front, wiping the blood on the back of his hand- and then licking it off- as he raised the phone to his ear again.

"Still don't believe me, Rupert? Dakota won't be so lucky next time," the cell phone was thrown out the window after he hung up. "How much do ya wanna bet he won't come after you lot?"

"Dad'll save us." Evan growled, Dakota leaning against the window as blood flowed down his neck and Buffy just glaring at the vampire as helplessness washed over her.

"What makes you so sure, Evan? If he comes after the three of you, then he loses the son who's gonna continue the Giles legacy in the Council. And if he doesn't come after you, then he really loses nothing." Stephen smirked at the hurt flashing in the 13 year old's eyes. "His wife can't stand him, plus she's one of thousands of Slayers- so that's no lose. Dakota is everything yer father hates about himself. I think you would be the only one he'd miss, and that's only cos of the potential you have as a sorcerer…"

"Shut the fuck up!" the Slayer cut him off. "Don't you dare talk about Rupert like that to his children."

Stephen just laughed as he turned to face the windshield. By the look on the youngest Giles' face, the creature knew he had already accomplished his goal.

* * *

He was still cursing under his breath as he walked into Brennan's room, knowing he had wasted precious time arguing with the nurse about seeing his son. Giles knew exactly what Stephen was doing by making him choose who he was going to save, knew what his half-brother was trying to accomplish by this.

"Dad?" the raspy voice caught Giles' attention, a small smile appearing on his face.

"I can't stay, Brennan." He began as he tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "Something's happened and I need to fix it,"

"What happened?" Brennan asked, panic showing in his dark green eyes.

"Your mum will explain everything when she comes back, but right now I need you to keep this close until Buffy returns. Understand?" a cross was pressed into the 16 year old's hands before his father gave him a quick hug and turned to leave the room.

"Dad…"

"I love you, Brennan. Don't ever forget that." Giles turned back to look at his son.

Without another word, he was gone and Brennan was left with a million questions. Something was seriously wrong, he had picked up on that when he woke up to hear the soft sobs of his mother a few hours ago. She had told him not worry about it when he had asked what was wrong, which only helped support his suspicions. And the way his father had been acting, it made Brennan wonder even more.

He gingerly ran a hand through his blonde hair, wincing when his fingertips grazed one of the many lacerations he had received in the crash. His left eye drifted down to the cross he had been given, the gauze over his right eye making him wonder if he would have to live the rest of his life with only one working eye or not.

Settling back into the barely comfortable pillow, Brennan figured there was nothing he could do beside sleep as he waited.

* * *

"Don't you know any spells to help us get outta these?" Dakota muttered as he pulled at his handcuffs for the umpteenth time.

"No…Dad never taught me that stuff," Evan answered, his gaze focused on the floor beneath the chair he was sitting on.

"Of course he didn't," the 16 year old grumbled. "Don't suppose he taught you anything to help Mum out either, huh?"

"What part of no talking don't you understand?" Evan and Dakota's heads snapped in the same direction from the force of the same slap.

"Don't you touch them!" Buffy warned, glaring at the small group of vampires that surrounded them.

"Or what?" one of them snarled, his yellow eyes glaring at her. "In case you forgot, Slayer, you aren't exactly in any position to do anything about it."

"Leave her alone, Mark." Stephen demanded as he made walked over to the other three vampires. "Rupert doesn't 'ave much longer to get 'ere. I know I'm gonna turn Evan and let Dakota be his first feed. I'm still trying to decide if I'm gonna turn you or not, although I do know I'm gonna have some fun either way."

"You wouldn't be so tough if Mum was able to actually fight back," Dakota pointed out, eyes like ice locked on the demon in front of them. "Let her go and we'll see how tough you and you're lackeys are then!"

"If I did that, then who would protect you two?"

"Dad would," Evan said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Rupert ain't comin'! He doesn't care about ya," Stephen growled, kneeling in front of the 13 year old. "Cos if he did, then yer precious daddy woulda staked me when he had the chance. But, as ya can see, he didn't and you lot are paying for it."

"And I have every intention of righting that wrong," Stephen turned around to see the Watcher standing on the other side of the abandoned music venue. "Let them go, Stephen."

"If I did that, then that would make me a liar." The vampire sighed, watching Giles make his way over to him. "I told you what I was gonna do and I plan on sticking to it. But I'm glad yer 'ere, Ru."

Giles just stared at the demon. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of playing into his word games.

"Now I can get things goin'." Stephen gave a slight nod of his head and smirked at his half-brother.

"Dad!"

"Look out!"

"Giles!"

The three voices caused him to turn around just as a vampire swung a two-by-four, the edge of the wood catching Giles' temple and sending him crumpling to the floor. He had barely hit the concrete before the two-by-four crashed down on the back of his skull, the faint splintering of the wood echoing in his head. Screams form his bound family filled the building as the three vampires pounced on him, his body taking multiple blows before Stephen called them off.

"Fuck…" Giles groaned as he rolled on to his back, fighting off unconsciousness with everything he had.

"Rupert, Rupert, Rupert." Stephen strolled over as Giles struggled to get to his feet. "You never could make things easy, could ya?"

"I'll kill you if you touch 'em, Stephen." He growled as he finally made it to his feet, swaying a bit on his feet.

The vampire just snickered as he held his hand out, his fingers closing on the grip of a metal baseball bat. Before Giles had time to react, Stephen swung the bat into his ribs and finished off with a well-aimed swing at his head.

Giles was out before he even hit the ground.


	10. Flowers for a Ghost

**Flowers for a Ghost**

"_Wonder what you do and where it is you stay, these questions like a whirlwind, they carry me away. Who will bring me flowers when it's over? And who will give me comfort when it's cold? Who will I belong to when the day just won't give in? And who will tell me how it ends and how it all begins."_

'_Flowers for a Ghost' – Thriving Ivory_

A groan left Giles' mouth as the pounding in his head worsened as he woke up, his entire body aching from the earlier beating. Evan's quite sobs reached his ears, giving him all the motivation he needed to fully come back to consciousness. The Watcher lunged forward once he was able to focus properly, only to feel metal cut into his wrists and force him back against the support beam.

"Don't you touch them!" he growled as Stephen forced Evan's head to the side.

"Ah, I see you've finally decided to join us!" the vampire let go of the 13 year old's hair.

"It's about time too," one of the other vampires spoke up, eyeing Buffy. "I'm starving."

Giles struggled against the handcuffs as he watched his family be eyed by the demons. His mind wasn't registering what Stephen was saying; all he knew was that he needed to figure out how to get out of the handcuffs. While his half-brother taunted Evan and Dakota, the Watcher took a deep breath and forced his mind to register exactly what the situation was. He quickly picked up on the binding spell that held his wife captive and began formulating a plan.

"Ya know I had no plans on hurting any of you lot?" Stephen asked as he kneeled in front of Evan, running his hands through the boy's hair. "I told yer dad the things I was gonna do to ya if he didn't stake me, and do ya know what happened? He just told me to leave town, so I 'ad to show Rupert that I was being quite serious. Yer brother crashed cos yer dad is a bloody coward,"

Dakota and Evan looked at their father over the vampire's head, disappointment flashing in their eyes as they were told of all the cowardly things Giles had done. The metal of the handcuffs cut into Giles' skin as he twisted his hands out of them, the pain he was in not showing on his face. The more he worked his hands out of the cuffs, the more blood he felt flow down his hands and down the support beam at his back.

"Rupert's such a coward that he's not even gonna try and work things out with yer mum." Stephen continued, his dark eyes locking on to the Slayer.

"He's not a coward." Buffy stated, glaring at the threat to her family. "Giles may not have made the greatest choices at times, but he's always done the right thing. And I'm pretty sure cowards don't do that,"

"Really now?" the demon smirked as he made his way over to Buffy, placing his right hand on her abdomen. "Is that why my baby brother is leaving a pregnant wife all alone with three boys who 'ave their own problems?"

Giles' eyes snapped to Buffy when Stephen's words registered. Buffy was pregnant and from the look on her face, she had known before now. Why didn't she tell him they were having another child?

"You're more of a coward then he is," Dakota looked him straight in the eye as he continued. "You had to hit his head when he wasn't paying attention, not to mention that you had to hurt and kidnap his family to get him close enough to hurt him. You could have attacked him at any time, but you were too much of a coward to even approach him."

"I'm the coward?" Stephen made his way over to the 16 year old, kneeling in front of him. "I did approach yer father and gave 'im the chance ta stake me. And I'm pretty sure that I told ya 'ow that meeting ended,"

"Fuck you." The 16 year old smirked as he spit in the vampire's face.

"So much like yer father. Too bad yer only good enough to be like Ripper," he vamped out as his hand shot out and gripped Dakota's throat. "Such a shame you lot have ta pay fer yer dad's lack of action."

"That's something I intend to correct," Stephen looked over his shoulder, smirking at the sight of his brother standing in the middle of the room. "Leave them alone, Stephen."

The Watcher was completely aware of the looks he was receiving from the four vampires, the amount of blood dripping from his wrists filling the area with the coppery smell. Stephen slowly approached his brother, holding his hand out as the other three made to move closer.

"Do ya really believe that ya can take on four vamps and walk away from it?" the vampire asked, taking a deep breath before giving his younger brother a hungry look. "Smells delicious."

"Can you just hurry up and kill him?" one of the others asked, licking his fangs as he rubbed his stomach. "All this blood isn't helping my hunger problem."

"Are you prepared to watch as ya lose yer family, Ru?"

Instead of answering, Giles shouted a few words in a language other than English and threw himself at Stephen. As soon as the two hit the ground, the two teenagers felt the handcuffs release and Buffy knew she was free to move around. With no hesitation, the Slayer brought her foot down on the wooden chair and picked up one of the broken legs before taking off as two of the other vampires chased after her. Dakota launched himself at the remaining vampire before Evan was hurt, his attack cut short as the vampire wrapped his hand around the 16 year old's throat.

Evan ran over to the broken chair, picking up the sharpest piece of the chair he could find. Making sure he had a good grip, the 13 year old ran towards his brother. His intentions of staking the vampire were cut short as the demon's hands the boy's arm, twisting the limb until the makeshift stake dropped to the ground. Evan scream in pain as a loud snapped sounded throughout the building.

"I wonder if all that magic makes your blood taste better," the creature growled as he forced Evan's head to the side.

"You aren't finding out," Dakota picked up the stake and shoved it into the vampire's heart, catching his brother before he collapsed to the floor. "You okay, Evan?"

"We need to help Dad," he mumbled as he motioned towards the general area their father was.

"After Mum," he gently grabbed Evan's good arm and began leading him in the direction their mother had run off.

The siblings had just reached their mother in time as she dusted one of the vampires, only to be sent to the ground by a punch from the other. Buffy quickly got back to her feet, rolling her eyes at the smug look on the demon's face.

"Why does every vampire that knocks me down get so smug?" she sighed as she adjusted her hold on the stake. "Congratulations, you made me fall. That's nothing to get smug about. Now if you killed me that would be different."

"I'm just thinking about all the fun I'm gonna have with once…" the vampire began.

"Hey, Ugly!" Dakota shouted, smirking once he got the creature's attention. "You wanna know a way to make sure you'll beat the Slayer?"

"Use us against her," Evan added as him and his brother waked towards the vampire, small sniffles coming from Evan as he held his broken arm to his chest.

There was a small thud before the demon exploded into a pile of dust, Buffy wasting no time in running towards her sons. She pulled both to her, careful about her youngest son's arm. Evan clung to Buffy as she ran a hand through Dakota's hair.

"You boys okay?" she asked them.

"As okay as we can be," Dakota shrugged, wincing when his hand ran over the vampire bite.

Buffy opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by an agonizing scream and a painful sounding snapping. The three took off to the main area of the building as Giles pushed himself backwards away from Stephen, holding his left knee close to him. With all the bruises and drying blood that covered him, Buffy was amazed that he hadn't passed out from the pain she knew he was in.

"Now, now, now Rupert," Stephen hauled Giles to his feet, causing the Watcher to whimper in pain. "I can't have you missin' a single moment of this."

"Stephen, please." Giles gasped, willing himself to stay awake through the pain that was coursing through his body. "Don't do this,"

"Ya really think I'm just gonna let ya go?" Stephen laughed in his face, his fingers digging into Giles's shoulders and causing Giles to yelp in pain as pressure was applied to his collarbone. "I lost my family the moment you came into the picture. Dad ignored me, acted like I didn't even exist…"

"I understand, truly I do Stephen. But this has nothing to do with them, let them go." Giles pled, his eyes wide with terror at the thought of Stephen murdering his family. "I'm begging you, Stephen. Take out whatever anger you have on me, not on them."

Stephen stared at the Watcher, tears swimming in the green eyes he had inherited from their father.

"You lot better get out before I change my mind and make 'im watch as I turn each of you." The vampire called over his shoulder, grinning at the pure fear on his brother's face. "I'm gonna enjoy this, Rupert."

Giles locked eyes with his wife as Stephen sunk his fangs into the Watcher's neck, a painful yell tearing through Giles.

"Daddy!" Evan screamed, making a run for his father only to be pulled back by Buffy.

The 13 year old struggled against his mother as he tried to reach his father, tears streaming down his face. Buffy just held him tighter to her, her own tears falling from her eyes. Dakota stood and watched the vampire drain his father, his fingers tightening one the chair leg. With no warning, the 16 year old darted towards the feeding demon and plunged the chair leg into Stephen. Giles fell to the ground as Stephen turned around, his yellow eyes focused on Dakota.

"You little shit!" he hissed as he made a grab for the teenager.

Dakota ducked under his grabbing hands and threw himself at the vampire's torso, pushing him back into a support beam. He coughed as he breathed in some of the dust before ripping off one of his sleeves and rushing back to his bleeding father, holding the cloth against Giles' neck. Dakota looked up as his mother dropped to her knees next to him, fishing through his father's jacket for his mobile phone.

"Call an ambulance, Kota." She tossed him the phone before applying pressure to her husband's neck.

"Mum?" Evan whispered as he slowly made his way over to them, his bottom lip held between his teeth in worry.

"Everything's…everything's gonna be…alright, Bug." Giles gasped, his right hand inching towards his youngest son just as he gave into unconsciousness.

"You can't leave us, Rupert." Buffy whispered just as Dakota came back saying the ambulance was on their way. "You are not allow to leave us, do you understand me?"

Evan wrapped his arms around his brother as Buffy ran her fingers through Giles' hair. There was nothing they could do but wait.

And none of them were exactly known for their patience.


	11. Fall to Pieces

**A/N- **Wow...it's been a while since I updated this. I'm not even sure if people here are still interested, but I'm gonna go ahead and finish posting this since I'm only 2 chapters away from finishing it.

* * *

**Fall to Pieces**

"So, let me get this straight…" Brennan began as he finished signing the green cast on his youngest brother's arm. "Mum and Dad are getting a divorce, and Mum's pregnant."

Evan nodded as his right fingers ran up and down the rough colored plaster, his eyes trained on the floor of his brother's hospital room. Their father still hadn't woken up since the paramedics had arrived at the hospital five hours ago, and their mother hadn't left his bedside since the doctor had allowed her to see him. Evan and Dakota, on the other hand, had been told to stay in Brennan's room until they were given the all clear. The 13 year old would never voice it, but the longer it took Giles to wake up the more afraid he grew.

"See what you miss when you get into a car crash?" Dakota smirked, hoping to ease some of the tension that had fallen on the three of them.

"Hearing you two, I think I'm happy that I got in the wreck and wasn't at Java Jazz." The 16 year old's chuckle coaxed soft chuckles from the other two.

Dakota just nodded as he absently fingered the bite mark on his neck, well aware of the obvious bruise that circled his neck as well. Compared to his brothers, Dakota knew he had gotten off the easiest. A scar and a bruise were nothing compared to Evan's injuries- a severely broken arm, bruised vocal cords and cuts on his wrists that would leave faint scars- and Brennan's injuries- three broken ribs, a small crack in his skull above his left eyebrow, a concussion, a broken leg, cuts that would leave scars and lose of sight in his right eye. The 16 year old shuddered at the thought of his father's condition.

Brennan looked at his brothers, a lump forming in his throat as he recalled everything that had happened recently. He noticed Dakota's expression for what it was- a feeble attempt of being strong- and the tears in Evan's eyes. They could make all the jokes they wanted, but it didn't take away the seriousness of the current situation.

They would most likely lose their father, whether or not he woke up.

* * *

She couldn't cry anymore.

The last 24 hours had left Buffy with no more tears to shed.

So she had settled for gripping her husband's hand, silently begging whoever would listen to let him wake up soon. There were so many things she needed to tell him, so many things she needed to apologize for. And the longer he stayed unconscious, the more she was regretting not going after him when he had told her their marriage was over.

"You have to wake up, Rupert." She whispered, running her fingers through his hair carefully. "Worse things have happened to us, and you've always come back to me."

Her eyes took in his face and the lump in her throat grew bigger; the bruises on his jaw and left temple, the gash on the back of his head, the shallow cuts around his eyes, the split lip and the vampire bite on his neck were for her and the boys- the cracked collarbone, broken ribs, broken hand, shattered kneecap and nearly fatal gashes on his wrist all added to the evidence of how far he had gone to save his family. And, after Giles had stormed out of the hospital hours ago, she had told Willow that she didn't think Giles would ever really do anything to protect her family.

"God, I'm such a bitch." She muttered, closing her eyes against the rising sorrow and guilt.

"You have your moments…but I wouldn't say…that you're entirely a…bitch." A tired voice rasped.

Buffy's eyes snapped open to find an exhausted Giles looking back at her, a barely noticeable smile on his cracked lips.

"Giles…" she breathed, biting her lip to control the tears welling in her eyes.

She wanted to say more, but knew she had to let the doctor know he was up- and had told Giles just that. Once she had gotten the doctor, the Slayer stood to the side and watched as her husband was looked over.

They would talk after everything settled down.

* * *

Giles had refused to talk to Buffy, stating that he wanted to see his sons. He had spent ten minutes making sure his children were truly all right, and another five minutes reassuring Evan that he would be fine. Once everyone had calmed down, he had requested a few minutes alone with Dakota.

And that's where he found himself now; looking at his 16 year old son as they talked out their problems. The more they talked, the more Giles came to a very terrifying conclusion- his relationship with Dakota was a very near replica of his relationship with his own father.

"I'm sorry, Kota." Giles whispered, cutting off Dakota's explanation of why he had acted the way he had for the past two years. "I never meant to hurt you the way I did. And I sure as hell didn't mean to make you think I was disappointed in you, that I…"

Giles took a breath, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall. And as Dakota began stating that he was sorry he was such a bad son, Giles realized that he had succeed in becoming his father. That realization made him hate himself even more.

"You're not a bad son, Dakota." Giles waited until he was looking in the dark blue eyes of his son, recognizing the same look of anger and pain he had had when he was Dakota's age. "Just because you've made bad choices does _not_ make you a bad son. If anything, it makes you perfectly normal."

"Stephen said that I was only good enough to be like Ripper," Dakota swallowed against the lump that had formed in his throat. "And he's right. I don't have magick and I don't wanna be a Watcher…"

"No, don't finish that. You are more like me than your brothers are, Dakota. You don't have to be a Watcher or have magick to be like me," tears were collecting his eyes as he realized how much his actions had impacted his son. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have done the things I've done…"

"Dad," Dakota shook his head, knowing it wasn't fair to place all blame on his father.

"And I should have told you about my stint as Ripper." Giles went on as if Dakota hadn't even spoken.

The teenager stared at his father, a small spark of hope welling up in him at the mention of his father's past. Dakota knew about the countless arguments his parents had had over this very topic, so it wasn't lost on him exactly how important this talk was. He sat on the chair next to his father's bed, taking in every word he said. The more he learned, the more he started actually seeing his father as a person.

"I had hit bottom, and then I just kept going further down. That isn't the life I want for you," by the time he was done, Giles' eyes were trained on the off white sheet of the bed. "I don't want you to have to keep trying to redeem for your past, or wondering how many children you actually have. I'm not going to tell you not to rebel because you're sixteen and that's what you do. But there's a definite difference between normal teenage rebellion and the type of rebellion that makes a criminal.

"And if you keep up what you've been doing," at Dakota's expression, Giles chuckled and gave his son a small smile. "You'll end up exactly where I was when I was twenty-three; broke, living on the streets, strung out on so many drugs and responsible for so many ruined lives."

Silence settled over the two, Dakota trying to take in all that his father had told him. Once it hit him that his father actually cared about him, tears began to make their way down his cheeks. Without hesitating, Giles pulled his song in a hug- not caring about the pain the sudden movement had caused.

"It's going to be alright. I promise," Giles whispered as he held his son close to him, doing his best to soothe Dakota. "Everything's going to be fine,"

* * *

"Are you and Dad really getting a divorce?" Brennan finally asked, chuckling as Evan mumbled something in his sleep.

"I don't know, Watcher." Buffy sighed, watching her youngest child sleep. "I don't want to…"

"Then why did you ask for a divorce?"

"I didn't ask for this, Brennan. Your father did," Buffy explained, doing her best to fight back the tears that welled up. "Actually, he didn't ask for it…he pretty much said we were getting one."

Brennan just stared at his mother, not really believing what he had been told. There was no way his father would be the one to end the marriage; that didn't seem like him.

"Have you talked to Dad about the baby?" he gave a small shrug at his mother's raised eyebrow. "Dakota and Evan filled me in while we were waiting for Dad to wake up."

"He won't talk to me, about anything." She scoffed, her hands resting protectively on her abdomen.

"It is Dad's, right?"

Buffy just gawked at her son.

'_Did he really just accuse me of what I think he's accusing me of?_' the Slayer shook her head as she wondered what possessed Brennan to question her faithfulness to Giles.

"Yes, the baby's his. Why would you even ask otherwise?"

"You guys have been arguing. A lot." The 16 year old began, trying to settle in a more comfortable position as he shared his bed with his younger brother. "And you flirt with other guys who aren't Dad. You've even cheated before, so…"

He shrugged when his mother gave him a stern look, quickly explaining that he was old enough to know why her relationships had failed before her and Giles got back together. Neither one said a word for a few minutes, the silence broken by Evan's occasion whimper- evidence that the whole experience with Stephen had left him with nightmares. Buffy was quick to move to where Evan was sleeping, running her fingers through his soft hair in a soothing fashion. The 13 year old settled back down, pulling more of the thing blanket over him and off of Brennan.

"You know Dad's gonna ask if it's his," he muttered, tapping his fingers on the poor excuse of a mattress he was on.

"I know, and I'll deal with that when it comes up." Buffy sighed, running a hand through her hair. "That is, if your father ever decides to talk to me."

"But when he does talk, everything'll be fine. Right, Mum?" Brennan hoped, his dark green eyes swimming with unshed tears.

She wanted to tell him yes, wanted to tell him that after they talked Giles would realize he had just been overreacting. But she couldn't say any of that, not when she didn't even know how things would turn out after discussing everything with Giles.

"I…" she started, cutting off at the look on her son's face.

"Can you lie to me, please?" he whispered, fighting the tears in his eyes.

"Yes, everything'll be fine. Your dad and I will stay together, and everything will be like it was when you and Dakota were just born." Buffy lied, remembering having a similar conversation with Giles years and years ago. "We'll be happy and won't argue about anything, except for the occasional Watcher/Slayer thing."

They chuckled for a few moments before Brennan sobered up, looking Buffy straight in the eyes.

"You're a bad liar, Mum." He said as he flashed a brief smile.

Buffy just gave him a quick smile before watching as Brennan settled down in the uncomfortable hospital bed and tried to sleep. She watched two of her sons manage to share such a small bed without upsetting their injuries, something she wasn't sure how they were pulling off. Her thoughts drifted to Giles and the issues that were between them, mainly the divorce he had left hanging over their heads.

And for the countless time that day, she broke down and cried to herself.


End file.
